The State Of South Carolina v. Nathaniel Witherspoon

Petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion in State v. Witherspoon, Op. No. 2015-UP-556 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Dec. 16, 2015). We grant the petition, dispense with further briefing, and reverse the Court of Appeals' decision. At petitioner's trial for first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) and firstdegree burglary, the trial judge instructed the jury on section 16-3-657 of the South Carolina Code, which provides that testimony of the victim need not be corroborated in prosecutions for CSC.1 Defense counsel objected to the charge as an improper comment on the facts, but was overruled. Petitioner was convicted of both charges and sentenced to eighteen years' imprisonment for each conviction, to be served concurrently. The Court of Appeals affirmed. After the Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Witherspoon, this Court held, in State v. Stukes, 416 S.C. 493, 787 S.E.2d 480 (2016), that a jury charge including the language of section 16-3-657 was confusing and an unconstitutional comment on the facts. 2 This Court explained that, "[b]y addressing the veracity of a victim's testimony in its instructions, the trial court emphasizes the weight of that evidence in the eyes of the jury." Id. The opinion explicitly overruled precedent condoning the use of section 16-3-657 as a jury charge, and provided that the ruling would be effective for all cases pending on direct appeal.