State v. Childers, 373 S.C. 367

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Carolina reviewed the denial of William Larry Childers's request to replace defense counsel and the refusal to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter. The court held that the trial judge did not abuse discretion in denying counsel replacement and that the evidence did not support a voluntary manslaughter charge because the alleged provocation came from a third party rather than the victim. The court upheld Childers's convictions in part and reversed the Court of Appeals' contrary ruling regarding the manslaughter instruction.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to relieve defense counsel because Childers failed to show satisfactory cause, divided loyalties, or an actual conflict of interest arising from counsel's prior prosecution of him on an unrelated charge.
2. The trial court properly refused to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter because the evidence, even viewed in the light most favorable to Childers, did not show that the victim supplied the sufficient legal provocation required for a voluntary manslaughter charge. The Court of Appeals therefore erred in reversing Childers' murder conviction on that ground.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Childers' request to relieve defense counsel, who had previously prosecuted Childers on an unrelated charge.
2. Whether the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter where Childers claimed that he fired in response to being shot at by a third party and the victim was accidentally struck.

Disposition

reversed