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South Carolina
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court - Roster of Cases for Hearing

   
The summary below each case is prepared to offer lawyers and the public a general overview of what issues are included in a case which will be argued. The summary is not a limit on what issues a party to a case may present at oral argument.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2021-000051   Applied Building Sciences, Inc., Appellant, v. South Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Public Railways, Respondents.

Gene McCain Connell, Jr., of Kelaher, Connell & Connor, P.C., of Surfside Beach, for Appellant. Keith M. Babcock and Joseph B. Berry, of Lewis Babcock, L.L.P., of Columbia, for Respondents. Paul Dezso de Holczer, of Columbia, for South Carolina Department of Transportation, Amicus Curiae. Bryan Eric Shytle, of Columbia, for Municipal Association of South Carolina, Amicus Curiae.

Petitioner filed this inverse condemnation action, arguing the statutory cap on reestablishment assistance pursuant to South Carolina Code subsection 28-11-30(4) (2007 & Supp. 2022) is unconstitutional under the Takings Clauses of the South Carolina and United States Constitutions. The circuit court denied Petitioner's motion for summary judgment and granted Respondent's cross-motion for summary judgment. The Court certified the case for review.

 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2019-001271   Marion Alexander Lindsey, Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent.

Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, Appellate Defender Lara Mary Caudy and Appellate Defender David Alexander, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown and Assistant Attorney General Michael Douglas Ross, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Barry J. Barnette, of Spartanburg, for Respondent.

A jury convicted Marion Alexander Lindsey of murdering of his wife. He was sentenced to death. After his conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal, Lindsey petitioned for post conviction relief (PCR), which the circuit court dismissed. This Court vacated the dismissal of Lindsey's application for PCR and remanded the case for the PCR court to issue a new order with findings of fact and conclusions of law on each issue presented in Lindsey's PCR application. The PCR court issued an amended order, again denying Lindsey PCR. Lindsey petitioned for a writ of certiorari from the PCR court's new order, which we granted to review whether (1) the amended PCR order complied with this Court's previous order; and (2) Lindsey's trial counsel acted ineffectively by failing to adequately investigate, prepare, and present his mitigation defense, specifically by failing to hire a social work expert to testify about Lindsey's upbringing or a prison adaptability expert to testify as to whether Lindsey would pose an unreasonable threat to others by being sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Supreme Court Courtroom
 09:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2021-001408   The State, Petitioner-Respondent, v. Robert Xavier Geter, Respondent-Petitioner.

Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Respondent-Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown, and Assistant Attorney General Tommy Evans, Jr.; and Solicitor Byron E. Gipson, all of Columbia, for Petitioner-Respondents.

The Court granted both the State's and Geter's petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in State v. Geter, 434 S.C. 557, 864 S.E.2d 569 (Ct. App. 2021). The Court will consider whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury on transferred intent for attempted murder and whether certain testimony constituted improper vouching.

 10:30 a.m. (Time Limits: 15-15-5)  
2021-001388   Daniel O'Shields and Roger W. Whitley, A Partnership d/b/a O&W Cars, Petitioners, v. Columbia Automotive, LLC d/b/a Midlands Honda, Respondent.

Brooks Roberts Fudenberg, of Law Offices of Brooks R. Fudenberg, LLC, of Charleston and C. Steven Moskos, of C. Steven Moskos, P.A., of North Charleston, both for Petitioners. Harry Clayton Walker, Jr., of Charleston; James Y. Becker, of Columbia; and Sarah Patrick Spruill, of Greenville, all of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., for Respondent.

The Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in O'Shields v. Columbia Automotive, L.L.C., 435 S.C. 319, 867 S.E.2d 446 (Ct. App. 2021).