State v. Perez

CHIEF JUSTICE BEATTY :

**493 We granted cross-petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' unpublished decision in State v. Perez , Op. No. 2015-UP-217, 2015 WL 1933739 (S.C. Ct. App. filed May 8, 2015), wherein the court determined: (1) the trial court's refusal to admit testimony of a witness' U-visa 1 application was harmless error; (2) the trial court properly admitted evidence of prior bad acts Venancio Diaz Perez committed against another minor; and (3) Perez's sentence was vindictive and a violation of due process. We reverse the Court of Appeals' decision and…