Legal Opinion
State v. Johnson
Supreme Court of South Carolina
Decided December 13, 2010No. 26902PublishedCited by 2 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Pleicones
Appellant was convicted of two counts of murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a weapon, and received consecutive life sentences for the murders, thirty years for armed robbery, and five years for the weapons charge. Appellant was tried jointly with Sharod Frazier. On appeal, appellant contends the trial court erred in denying appellant’s mistrial motion, made after a State’s witness committed a Bruton-type1 error. We agree and reverse.
FACTS
The State’s primary witness was Sammy Baker a/k/a Super-cat. Supercat testified about his activities on November 16-17, 2004. In relevant…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Bruton v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1968
- Richardson v. MarshSupreme Court of the United States · 1987
- Gray v. MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1998
- United States v. Akin Akinkoye, A/K/A A. Sam Akins, United States of America v. Nouyibatou AfolabiCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1999
- State v. CrawleyCourt of Appeals of South Carolina · 2002
3Cited by2 opinions
- State v. JacksonCourt of Appeals of South Carolina · 2014
- State v. JohnsonSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2010