In the Matter of the Care and Treatment of Jeffrey Allen Chapman, Appellant

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that persons civilly committed as sexually violent predators have a constitutional due‑process right to effective assistance of counsel, that such claims must be raised in a habeas‑corpus proceeding using the Strickland two‑prong standard, and affirmed Chapman’s commitment because his ineffective‑assistance claims were not preserved for direct‑appeal. Justice Few dissented, arguing the majority exceeded its jurisdiction by creating procedural rules for future cases.