Opinion ID: 1342405
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of funding post-trial to test Thompson's gloves

Text: Mercer's post-trial motion for funds to test Thompson's gloves for GSR was denied. The matter of authorizing funds to capital defendants lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-26(C)(1) (2003) (authorizing the trial court to award funds where court determines requested funds are reasonably necessary); see also State v. Matthews, 291 S.C. 339, 345, 353 S.E.2d 444, 448 (1986) (holding that the decision to award funds to capital defendants is a matter within the trial court's discretion). Before trial, the trial court authorized $53,000 for Mercer's defense. The trial judge went further and invited defense counsel to request additional funds if what I have authorized in this order is not going to get you all the way to trial. The record discloses no additional funding request prior to this post-trial motion. Of particular significance to a proper resolution of this post-trial funding request is the fact that Mercer retained a GSR expert for trial. The expert, Jeffrey Hollifield, is a chemist, formerly employed with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. Hollifield was assigned the limited task of analyzing the inconclusive results of the GSR test conducted on Mercer. For apparent strategic reasons, Hollifield was not tasked with testing the gloves found in Thompson's possession. As discussed above, the defense opted to challenge the adequacy of the State's investigation, pointing to the State's failure to test Thompson's gloves. Having elected not to test Thompson's gloves for trial purposes, there is no abuse of discretion in the denial of Mercer's post-trial motion for additional funding.