Court Opinion

ID: 9622541
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:19:29.752784+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:18.146326
License: Public Domain

Justice PLEICONES,
concurring.
I agree with the majority that we must affirm the post-conviction relief (PCR) judge’s order granting respondent PCR. Our scope of review is limited to whether there is any evidence of probative value in the record to support the PCR judge’s findings, Cherry v. State, 300 S.C. 115, 386 S.E.2d 624 (1989), and we give great deference to the PCR judge’s credibility determinations. Drayton v. Evatt, 312 S.C. 4, 430 S.E.2d 517 (1993). This deference requires that we accept the PCR judge’s finding that a witness is credible even where the PCR testimony is directly refuted by the trial or guilty plea record. See Solomon v. State, 313 S.C. 526, 443 S.E.2d 540 (1994). Given our limited scope of review, and the deference accorded the PCR judge’s credibility determinations, I concur in the result reached by the majority here.