State v. Dykeman

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.

John Dykeman, Appellant.

Appeal From Beaufort County

 John M. Milling, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No.  2010-UP-436

Submitted October 1, 2010 – Filed October
12, 2010

AFFIRMED

Senior Appellate Defender Joseph L. Savitz, III, 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 Melody J. Brown, all of Columbia; and Solicitor I. McDuffie
Stone, III, of Bluffton, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  John Dykeman appeals his convictions for murder,
kidnapping, and armed robbery.  Dykeman argues the trial court erred in
instructing the jury that he would receive the procedural advantage of having
the final closing argument in the event he declined to offer evidence.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following
authority:  State v. Steadman, 257 S.C. 528, 536-37, 186 S.E.2d 712, 714
(1972) (holding an appellant's argument that the trial court erred in
interfering, participating, and commenting during the trial proceedings was not
preserved for appellate review because the appellant failed to interpose a
timely objection at trial).

AFFIRMED.

FEW, C.J., HUFF and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.

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