James v. State

Chief Justice TOAL:

In this PCR case, the court of appeals held that the fact that Respondent Willie James (“Respondent”) had actual notice of the State’s intention to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole under South Carolina’s recidivist statute did not satisfy the Code’s requirement that both Respondent and his counsel receive written notice of the State’s intention prior to Respondent’s trial. Accordingly, the court of appeals held that Respondent’s trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object that Respondent did not receive the required written notification. We…