State v. Commander, 396 S.C. 254

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Carolina affirmed, as modified, the Court of Appeals' decision upholding Christopher Sam Commander's murder conviction. The court held that a qualified forensic pathologist may testify regarding the cause and manner of death, including homicide, when the testimony does not address the defendant's state of mind or guilt. The court also held that the evidence did not support an instruction on the defense of accident.

Holdings

1. A qualified forensic-pathology expert may testify under Rule 702, SCRE, concerning the cause and manner of death, including that a death was homicidal, so long as the expert does not testify about the defendant's state of mind, guilt, or matters of law in a manner that prevents the jury from reaching its own conclusion. The testimony was admissible here, and any potential prejudice was cured by the trial court's explanation of the term homicide and instructions allowing the jury to evaluate the expert testimony independently.
2. The trial court properly refused to instruct the jury on accident because, even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Commander, there was no evidence that he accidentally suffocated the victim. His statement suggesting an accidental killing was posed as a hypothetical during a request for legal advice, while his later statement indicated that he was conscious when he suffocated her.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court improperly admitted a forensic pathologist's expert testimony that the victim's manner of death was homicide.
2. Whether the trial court improperly refused to instruct the jury on the defense of accident.

Disposition

affirmed