State v. Bell

THIS OPINION
HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN
ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Willie Bell,
Jr., Appellant.

Appeal From Orangeburg County

James C. Williams, Jr., Circuit Court
Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2009-UP-325

Submitted June 1, 2009 – Filed June 15,
2009  

AFFIRMED

Deputy Chief Appellate Defender for Capital Appeals Robert M.
Dudek, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney
General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Assistant
Attorney General J. Anthony Mabry, all of Columbia; and Solicitor David Michael
Pascoe, Jr., of Orangeburg, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: 
Willie Bell, Jr., appeals his convictions and sentences for murder, arguing the
trial judge erred in dismissing a juror before the second day of trial.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following authorities:  Section 14-7-810 of the South Carolina
Code (Supp. 2008) ("[N]o person is
qualified to serve as a juror in any court in this State if . . . (4) he has
less than a sixth grade education or its equivalent."); State v.
McDaniel, 275 S.C. 222, 224, 268 S.E.2d 585, 586 (1980) (holding "[t]here
is no right to be tried by a jury composed of particular individuals."); State
v. Manning, 329 S.C. 1, 7, 495 S.E.2d 191, 194 (1997) ("An abuse of
discretion occurs when the trial judge's ruling has no evidentiary
support." ); State v. Bell, 374 S.C. 136, 147, 646 S.E.2d 888, 894
(Ct. App. 2007) ("A decision whether to dismiss a juror and replace her
with an alternate is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and such
decision will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.").  

AFFIRMED.

HUFF, PIEPER, and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.