South Carolina v. Tapp

Respondent Jarod Wayne Tapp was convicted of murdering and sexually assaulting his upstairs neighbor, Julie Jett (victim), and of burglarizing her apartment. Respondent received a life sentence for murder and two thirty-year sentences for the first degree criminal sexual conduct and burglary charges. The Supreme Court granted the State's request for certiorari to review the appellate court's decision to overturn and remand Respondent's convictions and sentences for a new trial. The court of appeals found that the record in this case was insufficient for determining whether the circuit judge properly considered the reliability of a special agent's testimony prior to introducing that testimony to the jury. The Supreme Court agreed that its decision in "State v. White,"(676 S.E.2d684 (2009) governed Respondent's case, but took the opportunity to clarify "White" in light of the court of appeals' misreading of "White" in the opinion below. The Supreme Court's reading of the record convinced the Court that the circuit judge stopped short of determining the reliability of the agent's testimony prior to admitting it into evidence, and therefore the trial court erred. However, the Court found that the error in admitting the testimony at issue was harmless. Accordingly, the Court reversed the court of appeals and reinstated Respondent's convictions. View "South Carolina v. Tapp" on Justia Law