Doleman v. State
304 Ga. 740
Ga.2018Background
- Between Dec 2011 and Jan 2012 Doleman, Edward Lee, and Demetrice Scott committed a series of related robberies, burglaries, and assaults while living at Karen Gibson's residence.
- On Jan 5, 2012 Charlie Artis was shot and killed; witnesses saw a man in a blue jacket (identified as Lee) flee toward a green car; co‑defendants had planned a robbery that day.
- Police later located the three at Karen's home, recovered stolen property, an Xbox controller, and a .38 revolver under a mattress after Karen consented to a search.
- Scott pleaded guilty to several offenses and testified against Doleman and Lee, describing their roles and identifying items and jackets seen during crimes.
- A Muscogee County jury convicted Doleman of multiple counts including malice murder and armed robbery; sentences included life for murder and concurrent and consecutive terms for other counts.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for murder and Artis robbery | State: evidence and Scott's testimony show Doleman's participation in the crime spree and support convictions | Doleman: evidence insufficient to link him to Artis murder/robbery | Convictions affirmed; evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia standard |
| Suppression of evidence from warrantless search | State: officers had consent to enter and search from occupants (Scott and primary tenant Karen) | Doleman: challenged warrantless search; moved to suppress items recovered | Trial court correctly found Doleman had standing as overnight guest but Karen's consent authorized search; suppression denied |
| Motion to sever offenses (murder/robbery from other counts) | State: crimes formed a continuous spree and were properly tried together | Doleman: some counts applied only to Lee or occurred on different days, creating potential prejudice | Severance not required: crimes were part of a single scheme; no demonstrated prejudice; some severance issues forfeited when Doleman didn't seek separate trial from Lee |
| Failure to instruct jury that guilty verdict mandates life sentence (plain error) | Doleman: court should have informed jury before verdict that murder conviction carries mandatory life, otherwise due process issue | State: standard practice is to withhold sentencing info; no controlling authority makes instruction mandatory | No plain error: failure to instruct not a clear/obvious legal error under existing precedent; claim denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for sufficiency of evidence review)
- Minnesota v. Olson, 495 U.S. 91 (overnight guest has Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy)
- Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 (consent by one occupant can permit search over co‑occupant's later objection when authority is shared or reasonably believed to be shared)
- Kelly v. State, 290 Ga. 29 (plain error four‑part test explained)
- Johnson v. State, 276 Ga. 57 (trial court not required to inform jury of minimum sentence in noncapital case)
- Rockholt v. State, 291 Ga. 85 (owner's consent to search can negate a present occupant's failure to object)
- Parks v. State, 272 Ga. 353 (party to a crime liability)
- Cooper v. State, 253 Ga. 736 (series of similar crimes may be part of single scheme—no mandatory severance)
- Davis v. State, 279 Ga. 11 (continuous crime spree rationale for denying severance)
- Hughes v. State, 296 Ga. 744 (standard of review for disputed suppression facts)
- State v. Herrera‑Bustamante, 304 Ga. 259 (plain error requires clear/obvious legal error under current law)