State v. Hudgins
| Decision Date | 04 April 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 24289,24289 |
| Citation | 319 S.C. 233,460 S.E.2d 388 |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Joseph Paul HUDGINS, Appellant. . Heard |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
John H. Blume, Leslie Ross Hall, and David P. Voisin, S.C. Death Penalty Resource Center, of Columbia; and S.C. Office of Appellate Defense, Columbia, for appellant.
Atty. Gen. T. Travis Medlock, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Donald J. Zelenka, and Deputy Atty. Gen. Salley Elliott, Columbia; and Sol. George M. Ducworth, Anderson, for respondent.
Appellant was convicted of murder and larceny and sentenced to death in July 1993. We affirm.
Appellant and Terry Cheek were driving a stolen truck when they were stopped by Officer Chris Taylor. Officer Taylor stopped them because a hose was dragging 250 feet from the truck. He did not know the truck was stolen. After showing appellant and Cheek the hose, Officer Taylor suggested they continue their conversation in his patrol car to get out of the rain. While walking toward the patrol car, Officer Taylor was shot once in the head. Appellant and Cheek ran into the woods to appellant's house which was several miles away. Appellant hid the gun in a rain gutter at his house and Cheek went home.
Several days later appellant and Cheek were arrested. Both made statements implicating appellant as the triggerman. Cheek pled guilty to accessory after the fact and testified for the State. At trial, appellant contended he confessed to the murder only because he was younger than Cheek and thought the system would be more lenient on him. Cheek was eighteen at the time of the murder and appellant was seventeen. 1 Appellant was convicted of murder and larceny.
The jury found two aggravating circumstances: murder of a law enforcement officer and murder committed while in the commission of larceny with a deadly weapon.
Appellant contends his due process rights were violated because he was not present at the pretrial hearing during which the trial judge decided to bring in a jury from another county because of pretrial publicity. Appellant did not object to his absence from the pretrial hearing. Therefore, this issue is not preserved. State v. Torrence, 305 S.C. 45, 406 S.E.2d 315 (1991) ().
Appellant contends the trial judge erred in qualifying several jurors. Since appellant failed to exhaust all of his peremptory challenges, we need not consider this issue. State v. Green, 301 S.C. 347, 392 S.E.2d 157 (1990).
Appellant contends the solicitor committed misconduct when he threw a piece of evidence, a ski mask, at appellant during cross-examination in the guilt phase of the trial. Although appellant objected to the solicitor's behavior, the trial judge did not rule on the objection and appellant did not object further or request curative instructions. Therefore, this issue is not preserved for review. State v. Pierce, 263 S.C. 23, 207 S.E.2d 414 (1974) ().
Appellant contends the State's references and questions regarding appellant's psychiatric exam and his answers to a psychological personality test violated appellant's rights. Appellant did not object to this line of questioning. Therefore, this issue is not preserved for review. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends the trial judge erred in not obtaining a waiver on the record of his right to closing argument. Appellant did not object and therefore this issue is not preserved. Torrence, supra; cf. State v. Charping, 313 S.C. 147, 437 S.E.2d 88 (1993) ().
Appellant contends the trial judge erred in denying his request for a jury instruction on accessory after the fact and, in the alternative, mere presence. We disagree . Since appellant admitted to being present when the murder occurred, he was not entitled to an instruction on accessory after the fact. State v. Plath, 277 S.C. 126, 284 S.E.2d 221 (1981).
Further, appellant admitted stealing the truck and being involved in a series of unlawful acts which culminated in the murder. Therefore, appellant was not entitled to an instruction on mere presence. State v. Grandy, 306 S.C. 224, 411 S.E.2d 207 (1991) ().
Appellant contends the victim impact evidence placed too great an emphasis on the law enforcement aspect of the case, so as to violate appellant's due process rights. Appellant did not make a contemporaneous objection to this testimony. He contends, however, he objected to this evidence when he made a pre-trial motion to prohibit the introduction of pictures of the victim and crime scene and he moved at the end of the trial to renew all previous motions. We disagree. Appellant's pretrial motion to prohibit the introduction of photographs was made on the general ground that the prejudicial impact outweighed the probative value and not on the ground raised on appeal. This issue is not preserved. State v. Crowley, 226 S.C.
472, 85 S.E.2d 714 (1955) (); State v. Bailey, 298 S.C. 1, 377 S.E.2d 581 (1989) ().
Appellant contends the trial judge erred in failing to obtain a waiver on the record of his right to testify at the sentencing phase. Appellant did not object and therefore this issue is not preserved. Torrence, supra. Appellant's proper remedy is post-conviction relief. State v. Rocheville, 310 S.C. 20, 425 S.E.2d 32 (1993).
Appellant contends submission of the aggravating circumstance of murder while in the commission of larceny was error. We disagree. Under State v. Jones, 288 S.C. 1, 340 S.E.2d 782 (1985), vacated on other grounds, 476 U.S. 1102, 106 S.Ct. 1943, 90 L.Ed.2d 353 (1986), crimes committed in a continuous series of acts are properly submitted as statutory aggravating circumstances. Here, the murder was committed in a continuous series of acts beginning with the stealing of the truck. Therefore, this issue is without merit.
Appellant contends the trial judge's instruction required the jury find any mitigating circumstances unanimously. Appellant did not object to the trial judge's instructions and therefore this issue is not preserved. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends the trial judge's instructions precluded the jury from considering nonstatutory mitigating circumstances. Appellant did not object and therefore this issue is not preserved. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends the trial judge erred by failing to include in the instructions the standard of proof of other crimes necessary for the jury to consider these other crimes. Cheek testified that he and appellant began breaking into places in mid-1992. Although appellant objected to the introduction of this evidence, appellant did not object to the trial judge's charge regarding these prior crimes. Therefore, this issue is not preserved. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends the imposition of the death penalty on a seventeen-year-old is cruel and unusual punishment under article I, § 15, of the State Constitution. This issue was not raised below and therefore it is procedurally barred. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends § 16-3-20 is unconstitutional because it authorizes the imposition of the death penalty on a juvenile. Again, appellant did not raise this issue below and therefore it is procedurally barred. Torrence, supra.
Appellant contends the Court should adopt a plain error rule. We decline to overrule or otherwise limit the holding in Torrence, supra, requiring a contemporaneous objection. In South Carolina, post-conviction relief is an available remedy which provides defendants with great latitude in alleging errors below. Appellant will have ample opportunity to raise any unpreserved errors through post-conviction relief.
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State v. Tucker, 24517
...to exhaust all of a defendant's peremptory strikes will preclude appellate review of juror qualification issues. State v. Hudgins, 319 S.C. 233, 460 S.E.2d 388 (1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 821, 133 L.Ed.2d 764 (1996). Furthermore, three of the jurors were not seated. 1 In ......
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Anonymous (M-156-90) v. State Bd. of Medical Examiners, M-156-90
...judge to be preserved for appellate review. Issues not raised in the trial court will not be considered on appeal. State v. Hudgins, 319 S.C. 233, 460 S.E.2d 388 (1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 821, 133 L.Ed.2d 764 (1996) (defendant's claim that his due process rights were vi......
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State v. Ard, 24840.
......234, 471 S.E.2d 689, cert, denied 519 U.S. ___, 117 S.Ct. 402, 136 L.Ed.2d 316 (1996); State v. Williams, supra; State v. Hudgins, 319 S.C. 233, 460 S.E.2d 388 (1995), cert, denied, 516 U.S. 1096, 116 S.Ct. 821, 133 L.Ed.2d 764 (1996); State v. Rocheville, supra; State v. ......
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State v. Higgenbottom, 3074.
...reinstate the original sentence. 1.North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970). 2. See State v. Hudgins, 319 S.C. 233, 460 S.E.2d 388 (1995) (a defendant's claim that the imposition of the death penalty on a seventeen-year old constituted cruel and unusual pun......