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State v. Staten3/7/2005
Heard February 9, 2005
AFFIRMED
Dushun Staten appeals his convictions for murder and lynching in the first degree. He argues the trial court erred in (1) admitting a prior statement by the decedent; (2) barring evidence regarding an alleged confession; and (3) refusing to charge the jury on the law of mere association and mere suspicion. We affirm.
FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On January 15, 2001, Phillip Lee, Jr., a student of Benedict College and a reputed gang member of the Crips, was gunned down on Benedict's campus. Brothers Lucius and Dushun Staten were indicted for the offenses of murder and lynching in the first degree for this crime. They were tried together in 2002. The jury found Dushun and Lucius guilty of lynching in the first degree, but only Dushun guilty of murder. The trial court sentenced Lucius to fifteen years, suspended upon the service of eight years for lynching. The court sentenced Dushun to thirty years for murder and ten years for lynching, to run concurrently.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
In criminal cases, the appellate court sits to review errors of law only. State v. Wilson, 345 S.C. 1, 545 S.E.2d 827 (2001); State v. Wood, Op. No. 3900 (S.C. Ct. App. filed December 6, 2004) (Shearouse Adv. Sh. No. 47 at 74). This court is bound by the trial court's factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. State v. Quattlebaum, 338 S.C. 441, 527 S.E.2d 105 (2000); State v. Landis, 362 S.C. 97, 606 S.E.2d 503 (Ct. App. 2004). The appellate court does not re-evaluate the facts based on its own view of the preponderance of the evidence, but simply determines whether the trial judge's ruling is supported by any evidence. State v. Mattison, 352 S.C. 577, 575 S.E.2d 852 (Ct. App. 2003). A trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion or the commission of legal error that results in prejudice to the defendant. State v. McLeod, 362 S.C. 73, 606 S.E.2d 215 (Ct. App. 2004); State v. Adams, 354 S.C. 361, 580 S.E.2d 785 (Ct. App. 2003). An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's ruling is based on an error of law. State v. Horton, 359 S.C. 555, 598 S.E.2d 279 (Ct. App. 2004).
The appellate court should examine the record to determine whether there is any evidence to support the trial court's ruling. See Wilson, 345 S.C. at 6, 545 S.E.2d at 829. If there is any evidence in the record, the appellate court should affirm. Id.
LAW/ANALYSIS
I. Statement Made by the Decedent
Dushun claims the trial court erred in admitting Andrew Britt's testimony that Lee told him that Dushun pulled a gun on him shortly prior to the incident. We disagree.
Andrew Britt, Lee's cousin and Benedict roommate, testified that on the evening before the shooting, Lee, normally a "very calm," "laid back kind of person," arrived in his dorm room "very hysterical and like scared." Britt asked: "Phil, what's wrong with you?" Though Lee avoided answering Britt's questions for a while, Lee eventually confessed that "they just pulled a . . . gun on me." When Britt asked who "pulled" the gun on him, Lee declared: "The niggers we had a argument with on Saturday."
Dushun timely objected to this testimony based on the hearsay rule, but the trial court overruled the objection. Later, on cross-examination by Lucius's attorney, Britt stated that Lee actually said, "The small kid pulled out a gun and asked . . . what's up now." Britt believed Lee was specifically referring to the "little brother," Dushun.
A. Efficacy of Crawford v. Washington
The Confrontation Clause of the Six
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