State v. Andrews

830 S.E.2d 12, 427 S.C. 178
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedJune 19, 2019
DocketAppellate Case 2018-001765; Opinion 27894
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 830 S.E.2d 12 (State v. Andrews) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Andrews, 830 S.E.2d 12, 427 S.C. 178 (S.C. 2019).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

**179 The State of South Carolina has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking this Court to review the Court of Appeals' decision in State v. Andrews , 424 S.C. 304 , 818 S.E.2d 227 (Ct. App. 2018). We grant the petition, dispense with further briefing, and affirm as modified.

I.

The facts in this case are fully and accurately set forth in the Court of Appeals' opinion. After a fatal shooting at Respondent's home, Respondent was indicted for murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Respondent moved to dismiss the charges pursuant to **180 the Protection of Persons and Property Act 1 (the Act) on the ground he shot the victim in self-defense.

During the pre-trial immunity hearing, Respondent claimed that, after an altercation and being threatened by the victim, Respondent shot the victim in the threshold of the front door as the victim attempted to reenter his home. Respondent's father corroborated Respondent's version of events. However, another eyewitness, the victim's girlfriend and *13 Respondent's cousin, testified the victim was attempting to peacefully leave Respondent's home and that Respondent followed the victim out of the home, shooting him on the porch. Additional forensic evidence was presented at the hearing, but it did not conclusively support either version of events.

At the conclusion of the immunity hearing, the circuit court rejected Respondent's argument. Relying on State v. Douglas , 411 S.C. 307 , 768 S.E.2d 232 (Ct. App. 2014), the circuit court held:

The burden clearly is by the preponderance of the evidence. Not the normal criminal case law beyond a reasonable doubt. ... The testimony in this case from the witnesses and from the defendant have been at least very inconsistent. The testimony has been conflicting as to what the different witnesses saw and what happened on the night in question. And therefore, I find that the defendant has not met [his] burden of proving to me by a preponderance of the evidence, and therefore a request for immunity is hereby denied.

Ultimately, the Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's denial of immunity, but reversed Respondent's convictions based on a separate evidentiary issue.

While we agree with the result reached by the Court of Appeals, we granted the petition for a writ of certiorari to reiterate the impact of our recent decision in State v. Cervantes-Pavon , 426 S.C. 442 , 827 S.E.2d 564 (2019).

II.

When the Act was passed, the process for requesting immunity from prosecution was unclear. Therefore, in **181 State v. Duncan , we interpreted the Act and provided procedural guidance, instructing that the hearing was properly held prior to trial and the burden of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence. 392 S.C. 404 , 709 S.E.2d 662 (2011).

Shortly after Duncan was decided, this Court heard State v. Curry , 406 S.C. 364 , 752 S.E.2d 263 (2013). However, at the time of the Curry trial, which occurred three years before the appeal to this Court, we had not yet decided Duncan . Thus, the parties and the circuit court did not have the benefit of the guidance provided by Duncan as to the proper procedure through which an immunity determination should be requested. Consequently, in Curry , the defense attorney requested immunity at the directed verdict stage of trial, and the accused was ultimately denied immunity from prosecution. 406 S.C. at 369 , 752 S.E.2d at 265 . In Curry , we explained the accused's "claim of self-defense presented a quintessential jury question," which did not warrant immunity from prosecution, and therefore, we held the claim was properly submitted to the jury, with the claim of self-defense having been fully presented at that stage of trial. 406 S.C. at 372 , 752 S.E.2d at 267 . This excerpt from Curry has been the source of much confusion for the bench and bar. We take this opportunity to emphasize that aspect of Curry was related to its specific and unique procedural posture at trial-a motion for directed verdict-and was not intended to allow circuit courts to automatically deny immunity in cases with conflicting evidence.

Most recently, in Cervantes-Pavon , we revisited the Act, ultimately reversing the circuit court's denial of immunity and remanding for a new immunity hearing. We found the circuit court's immunity hearing was controlled by multiple errors of law, including a misapplication of Curry .

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Bluebook (online)
830 S.E.2d 12, 427 S.C. 178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-andrews-sc-2019.