Robinson v. the State
334 Ga. App. 646
Ga. Ct. App.2015Background
- In Dec. 1995 an armored-car driver (Hamilton) was shot during a robbery; Leon Tollette was the shooter. Police saw a blue Mustang near the scene; Tollette was captured and other suspects were identified.
- Jakeith Robinson was tried in June 1998 on multiple counts (murder, felony murder, armed robbery, two aggravated assaults, felon-in-possession, and weapon-in-commission). He was acquitted of murder, felony murder, and aggravated assaults; the jury deadlocked on armed robbery and weapon-in-commission.
- In Sept. 1999 Robinson was retried (joined with co-defendant Womack) on armed robbery and possession-of-weapon-during-felony; the State again pursued theories that Robinson was a conspirator/party to the robbery (alleged getaway driver).
- At the second trial the State relied on the same party-to-a-crime/conspiracy theory and sought to use co-defendant testimony; Robinson objected on grounds of collateral estoppel/double jeopardy and also sought severance.
- The jury in the second trial convicted Robinson of armed robbery; he was sentenced to life. Robinson appealed; the appellate record was docketed many years late. The Court of Appeals reversed Robinson’s conviction, holding issue preclusion barred relitigation of the party-to-a-crime theory.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Robinson) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the State was barred from relitigating party-to-a-crime/co-conspirator theory (issue preclusion/collateral estoppel/double jeopardy) | The State argued it could retry armed robbery and prove party-to-a-crime theory; prior acquittals did not preclude retrial on the armed robbery count. | Robinson argued the first jury’s acquittals necessarily decided he was not a party to the crimes, so the State could not relitigate that theory. | Reversed: collateral estoppel barred the State from reasserting the party-to-a-crime theory; a rational jury in the first trial must have rejected that theory. |
| Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying severance of Robinson’s retrial from Womack’s trial | State argued common evidence and co-conspirator theory justified joinder; same evidence would be used against both. | Robinson argued joint trial prejudiced him because it allowed relitigation of issues already resolved in his favor. | Not reached on merits; resolution of preclusion issue made further rulings unnecessary. |
| Whether the court erred by prohibiting Robinson from telling the jury about his prior acquittals during the joint trial | State maintained limiting evidence of prior acquittals was proper to avoid confusion/prejudice. | Robinson argued the acquittals were essential to show the party-to-a-crime theory was previously rejected. | Not resolved on the merits; appellate court reversed on issue-preclusion grounds and did not need to decide this separately. |
| Delay in appellate record docketing and related due-process concerns | N/A | Robinson complained about extreme post-conviction, pre-appeal delay (record docketed after ~14 years). | Appellate court criticized the delay as unacceptable, but reversal was based on collateral estoppel; the delay did not change the legal holding. |
Key Cases Cited
- Roesser v. State, 294 Ga. 295 (issue-preclusion standard in Georgia) (explaining courts must examine prior record to see what issues were necessarily decided)
- Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436 (1970) (establishes collateral estoppel/double jeopardy bar to relitigation of issues necessarily decided by a prior acquittal)
- United States v. Ohayon, 483 F.3d 1281 (11th Cir. 2007) (articulates objective "could a rational jury" test for issue preclusion in mixed-verdict cases)
- Yeager v. United States, 557 U.S. 110 (2009) (mixed-verdict principles: counts on which jury hung do not affect what was decided by reached verdicts)
- Joyner v. State, 280 Ga. 37 (context on party-to-a-crime liability, including getaway-driver precedent)