State v. O'LEARY

Supreme Court of South Carolina

State v. O'LEARY

393 S.E.2d 186, 302 S.C. 17, 1990 S.C. LEXIS 114

CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina

DecidedJune 18, 1990

Docket23233

StatusPublished

Cited by11 cases

This text of 393 S.E.2d 186 (State v. O'LEARY) 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. O'LEARY, 393 S.E.2d 186, 302 S.C. 17, 1990 S.C. LEXIS 114 (S.C. 1990).

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Opinion

Chandler, Justice:

Appellant, Thomas Lee O’Leary (O’Leary) pled guilty to driving under suspension (DUS) in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-460 (Supp. 1989). The trial Court permitted O’Leary to condition his guilty plea upon the right to appeal

*18 the constitutionality of S.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-360 (1976), 1 regarding notice to drivers whose licenses are suspended. This was error; we reverse.

Guilty pleas are unconditional and, if an accused attempts to attach any condition, the trial Court must direct a plea of not guilty. State v. Truesdale, 278 S.C. 368, 296 S.E. (2d) 528 (1982). It is, thus, impermissible for a defendant to preserve constitutional issues while entertaining á guilty plea; the trial Court may not accept the plea on such terms. Id.

We reverse and remand for new trial.

Reversed and remanded.

Gregory, C J., and Harwell, Finney and Toal, JJ., concur.

1

This section was amended subsequent to O’Leary’s plea by 198 No. 169, § 1, effective June 8, 1989. See, § 56-1-360 (Supp. 1989).

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