Washington v. StateWashington v. State
This Court granted certiorari to review the lower court‘s grant of Post-Conviction Relief (“PCR“) to Daniel Edward Washington. We affirm.
FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Washington was indicted and tried for trafficking in cocaine. He was found guilty and sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment and fined $200,000. He filed a notice of intent to appeal. This Court dismissed the appeal due to Washington‘s failure to file an initial brief and designated matter to be included on appeal.
Washington filed an application for PCR on July 15, 1991, raising a number of issues, including one relating to the State‘s misconduct in connection with a plеa agreement. The PCR court, Judge Bristow, issued an order on April 21, 1992, finding that Washington did not waive his right to a direct appeal and should be afforded an opportunity to appeal pursuаnt to Davis v. State, 288 S.C. 290, 342 S.E.2d 60 (1986). As to the State‘s misconduct, the court found that the State failed to adequately explain to the jury the State‘s relationship with one of its witnesses. The court‘s order stated that “this is a mаtter that can be addressed on direct appeal and does not require a reversal of the jury verdict by this Court.”
After the PCR court issued its April 21, 1992 order, Washington petitioned for writ of certiоrari, raising three issues: (1) the judge erred by failing to find ineffective assistance of counsel at trial; (2) the judge erred by failing to reverse the conviction based on the State‘s misconduct; and (3) trial counsel failed to properly perfect Washington‘s appeal, thereby denying him the opportunity to appeal his conviction. This
On July 28, 1993, Washington filed another application for PCR, arguing: (1) ineffective assistance of PCR counsel and (2) error by the PCR judge in ruling that the issue of the State‘s misconduct could be heard by an appellate court. The matter was again heard by Judge Bristow. At the November 7, 1994 hearing, Washington moved to amend the court‘s April 21, 1992 order for what “amount[ed] to clerical errors.” He argued the court found in the 1991 PCR hearing that in the event the issue of the State‘s misconduct is not preserved on direct appeal, then Washington would be entitled to a new trial. Thе court treated the motion as a motion to alter or amend judgment and agreed with Washington. The court amended the April 21, 1992 order to grant Washington a new trial.
The State has petitionеd for writ of certiorari, which this Court has granted.
LAW/ANALYSIS
The Supreme Court must affirm the PCR court‘s findings if they are supported by any competent evidence of probative value in the record. Webb v. State, 281 S.C. 237, 314 S.E.2d 839 (1984). Herе, the PCR court found that Washington was entitled to a new trial because of the State‘s misconduct in failing to fully disclose the nature of its relationship with a witness. The United States Supreme Court in Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972) statеd that deliberate deception of a court and jurors by the presentation of known false evidence is incompatible with rudimentary demands of justice; the same result obtains when the State, although not soliciting false evidence, allows it to go uncorrected when it appears.
The State argues, and the dissent agrees, that Washington is procedurally barred. Although one may reach this result under a hyper-technical analysis, such a conclusion must be rejected in this case, because so many procedural irregularities occurred during the course of Washington‘s judicial process that he has not reсeived due process. He did not have the benefit of a direct appeal, because his attorney failed to file an appellate brief. Moreover, the first PCR court dеcided, in effect, that Washington was entitled to a new trial, but allowed the relief to be addressed on direct appeal; however, this Court denied certiorari as to the question. Additionally, the second PCR court granted relief, but did so through an improper procedure, specifically, by amending the first order. Thus, Washington has never received the benefit of a direct review. Even if his application is successive, the unique combination of facts in this case entitle him to the relief granted below. See Case v. State, 277 S.C. 474, 289 S.E.2d 413 (1982).
Citing Aice v. State, 305 S.C. 448, 409 S.E.2d 392 (1991), the dissent states, “Successive PCR applications arе not favored, and the applicant has the burden of proving that the grounds raised in a successive application could not have been raised in a previous appliсation.” The “sole issue” addressed in Aice was “whether a convict may maintain a successive application for post-conviction relief (PCR) on the ground that his first complete PCR application was insufficient due to ineffective PCR counsel.” Id. at 448, 409 S.E.2d at 393. We held: “[T]he contention that prior PCR counsel was ineffective is not per se a `sufficient reason’ allowing for a successive PCR application under
Finality must be realized at some point in order to achieve a semblance of effectiveness in dispensing justice. At some juncture judicial review must stop, with оnly the very rarest of exceptions, when the system has simply failed a defendant and where to continue the defendant‘s imprisonment without review would amount to a gross miscarriage of justiсe.
Id. The present case is one of those rare exceptions.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, the PCR court‘s order granting Washington a new trial is AFFIRMED.
FINNEY, C.J., and MOORE and WALLER, JJ., concur. BURNETT, J., dissenting in separate opinion.
BURNETT, Justice:
I respectfully dissent. Respondent‘s application for рost-conviction relief (PCR) is successive.
In 1991, respondent filed a PCR application. In April 1992, after a hearing, the PCR judge issued an order finding, inter alia, the State had failed to adequately explain а plea agreement with one of its witnesses at respondent‘s trial and, further, respondent had not knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to a direct appeal. The PCR judge concluded, however, that the State‘s misconduct did not warrant reversal by the PCR court, but could be addressed on direct appeal. Respondent did not file a
On respondent‘s petition for a writ of certiоrari, this Court affirmed the denial of PCR, granted respondent a belated review on the issue of the State‘s misconduct, and affirmed due to respondent‘s failure to preserve the issue for appellate review at trial. Washington v. State, Op. No. 93-MO-151 (S.C.Sup.Ct. filed June 11, 1993).
In July 1993, respondent filed a second PCR application challenging the PCR judge‘s finding that the State‘s failure to adequately explain the plea agreеment could be raised on
In 1994, prior to the hearing on his second PCR application, respondent motioned the PCR judge to correct “clerical errors” in his April 1992 order.1 He asserted the PCR judge‘s 1992 order did not conform to his oral ruling at the PCR hearing. The PCR judge granted respоndent‘s motion and issued an order amending his prior PCR order. In this amended order, the PCR judge stated that since the Supreme Court “refused to hear this matter [regarding the plea agreement] on direct [appeal],” respondent was entitled to a new trial. It is from this order that the State sought and was granted a writ of certiorari.
Respondent‘s second PCR application is successive. See