Court Opinion

ID: 9622385
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:16:46.533384+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:24.791185
License: Public Domain

Chief Justice TOAL,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I respectfully concur in result in part and dissent in part from the majority’s opinion. First, I concur in result with Part A of the majority’s opinion, which concerns the issue of a good-faith defense to forgery. Nonetheless, I disagree with the majority’s reasoning as it concerns this issue. Second, in my opinion, the court of appeals erred when it reversed the trial court’s decision not to charge the jury as to its use of character evidence. Thus, I dissent as to Part B 'of the majority’s opinion.

A. Jury Charge Concerning Goodr-Faith Defense

In my view, the court of appeals did not err when it affirmed the trial court’s refusal to charge the jury as to a “good-faith” defense to forgery. The majority, however, finds that the trial court erred in this respect but concluded, nonetheless, that the error was harmless. In my view, there is no “good-faith” defense to forgery in South Carolina3 and I would affirm the court of appeals on this ground, stopping short of applying a harmless error analysis. Therefore, although I concur in result as to this issue, I disagree with the majority’s reasoning.

B. Jury Charge Concerning Good Character

Second, in my view, the court of appeals erred when it did not recognize as harmless the trial court’s failure to charge the jury as to Lee-Grigg’s good character.
The State concedes that it was error not to charge the jury as to Lee-Grigg’s character, but argues that the error was harmless because the evidence presented at trial conclusively established Lee-Grigg’s guilt. I agree.
*319To warrant reversal, a trial judge’s failure to give a requested jury instruction must be both erroneous and prejudicial. State v. Hughey, 339 S.C. 439, 450, 529 S.E.2d 721, 727 (2000). As the court of appeals correctly noted, a trial court’s failure to instruct a jury is subject to “harmless error” analysis. State v. Lee-Grigg, 374 S.C. 388, 411, 649 S.E.2d 41, 53 (Ct.App.2007); see State v. Jefferies, 316 S.C. 13, 21, 446 S.E.2d 427, 431 (1994) (noting that the harmless error analysis is appropriate where the error complained of is a “trial error” rather than a “structural defect” in the trial mechanism itself). Whether an error is harmless depends on the circumstances of the case. State v. Reeves, 301 S.C. 191, 193, 391 S.E.2d 241, 243 (1990). The materiality and prejudicial character of the error must be determined from its relationship to the entire case. Id. An error not affecting the result of the trial is harmless where “guilt has been conclusively proven by competent evidence such that no other rational conclusions can be reached.” State v. Pagan, 369 S.C. 201, 212, 631 S.E.2d 262, 267 (2006).
In my view, the evidence presented at trial conclusively proved that Lee-Grigg was guilty of the crime of forgery. Forgery involves the false making or material alteration, with the intent to defraud, prejudice, or damage another, of an instrument which serves as the foundation for legal liability. State v. Walton, 107 S.C. 353, 356, 93 S.E. 5, 6 (1917). The State presented overwhelming evidence of Lee-Grigg’s guilt. The jury considered uncontroverted evidence that Lee-Grigg applied to SCVAN to obtain reimbursement for expenses she admittedly did not incur. At no time did Lee-Grigg attempt to say that she incurred the expenses for which she sought reimbursement. Furthermore, the evidence presented at trial conclusively established that Lee-Grigg altered the city’s receipts that she used to support her application for reimbursement. In short, Lee-Grigg admitted at trial that even though she represented to SCVAN that she incurred the expenses for which she sought reimbursement, they were actually incurred by the city. Additionally, Lee-Grigg admitted at trial that she was aware that the reimbursement application form submitted to SCVAN misrepresented, concealed, or otherwise communicated false information.
*320In determining that the error was not harmless, the court of appeals was persuaded by the details of the jury’s deliberation, specifically its request for an instruction as to the definition of criminal intent. I view this analysis of the relationship between criminal intent and good character as simply another way of asserting a “good faith” defense to forgery. The fact that Lee-Grigg’s forgery was motivated by a desire to help her non-profit organization does not impact the analysis of whether she intended to commit this crime.
In my view, the uncontroverted evidence presented at trial conclusively established that Lee-Grigg knowingly made specific misrepresentations in her application for reimbursement from SCVAN and supported those misrepresentations by altering the city’s documentation and claiming it as her own. Lee-Grigg admitted these facts at trial. Even if the jury were instructed on its use of character evidence, given the uncontroverted evidence presented at trial, the jury could only have reached one logical conclusion — that Lee-Grigg was guilty of forgery. Thus, I would find that the failure to charge the jury on its use of character evidence was harmless error and the court of appeals should be reversed on this issue.
Acting Justice JAMES E. MOORE, concurs.

. Relying upon this Court's opinion in Brown v. Bailey, 215 S.C. 175, 54 S.E.2d 769 (1949), the majority concludes that "good-faith” is a defense to forgery in South Carolina. However, Brown does not recognize a good-faith defense to forgery, merely referencing the concept hypothetically in dicta. 215 S.C. at 191, 54 S.E.2d at 776.