State v. Doleman

835 So. 2d 850, 2002 WL 31819224
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 4, 2002
Docket2002-KA-0957
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 835 So. 2d 850 (State v. Doleman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Doleman, 835 So. 2d 850, 2002 WL 31819224 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

835 So.2d 850 (2002)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Clifford DOLEMAN.

No. 2002-KA-0957.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

December 4, 2002.

*853 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Julie C. Tizzard, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Mary Constance Hanes, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

(Court composed of Judge STEVEN R. PLOTKIN, Judge DENNIS R. BAGNERIS, SR., Judge DAVID S. GORBATY).

STEVEN R. PLOTKIN, Judge.

This is a criminal appeal of a conviction for armed robbery in violation of La. R.S. 14:64, which resulted in a sentence of one hundred ninety eight years as a second felony habitual offender. Appellant urges that the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to recuse the judge, in failing to impose sanctions on the State when one of its witnesses violated a sequestration rule and in imposing an excessive sentence. In addition, the appellant, pro se, argued that the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct and that the trial court erred in quashing a defense subpoena for the trial judge. For the following reasons, the conviction and sentence are affirmed.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant Clifford Doleman was charged by bill of information on October 27, 1994 with armed robbery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1. Defendant pleaded not guilty at his November 8, 1994 arraignment. The trial court denied defendant's motions to suppress on January 30 and March 29, 1995.[1] Trial commenced on September *854 26, 1995, but a mistrial was declared that same date after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. On January 23, 1996, defendant was tried and found guilty as charged on the armed robbery count by a twelve-person jury. On February 9, 1996, defendant was adjudicated a second-felony habitual offender and sentenced to one hundred and ninety-eight years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. On April 9, 1996, the State entered a nolle prosequi as to count two, the charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On July 2, 1997, this court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence.[2]

On January 14, 2000, in response to defendant's petition for writ of habeas corpus, citing the State's failure to provide him with a transcript of his first trial for use at his second trial, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana effectively ordered that defendant be retried.[3] This decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[4] On April 18, 2001, the trial court denied defendant's motion to suppress the evidence. On April 25, 2001, defendant was tried by a twelve-person jury and again found guilty as charged of armed robbery. On May 9, 2001, the trial court denied two motions for new trial filed by defendant, and a motion in arrest of judgment. On June 13, 2001, defendant was again adjudicated a second-felony habitual offender and sentenced to one hundred ninety-eight years at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The court denied defendant's motion to reconsider sentence, and granted his motion for appeal.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

New Orleans Police Officer Neville Payne testified that on August 30, 1994, he responded to an armed robbery at a Walgreens drugstore located at the corner of St. Claude and Caffin Avenues.[5] He was met by the manager, Mr. Saulny, who gave the officer an identification card that was dropped by the robber, which card belonged to defendant. Officer Payne interviewed three other witnesses, Ms. Washington, *855 Ms. Pleasant and Ms. Gusman. The officer recovered a rusty, sawed-off shotgun in some hedges on St. Claude Court, right behind the Walgreens. A pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap were also recovered. Officer Payne broadcast a description of the suspect, and of the vehicle in which he fled.

Officer Payne admitted that neither Mr. Saulny, Ms. Pleasant or Ms. Gusman were able to give him a description of the suspect's clothing and physical characteristics. He was confronted with his testimony given at a prior proceeding that they had provided a description of the suspect. Officer Payne confirmed that Ms. Jackie Robinson observed defendant place the shotgun in the hedges. After refreshing his memory by reviewing his police report, Officer Payne stated that Ms. Robinson gave him a general description of the person with the shotgun as a very dark, very thin black male of unknown height, wearing blue clothing. Ms. Robinson described the suspect's vehicle as brown over light brown in color, with a temporary tag in the window. It was noted that Officer Payne testified at one prior proceeding that the two-toned dark brown/light brown vehicle was possibly a Maxima, but testified at another proceeding that he broadcast a description of the vehicle over the police radio as a two-toned brown "possible Nissan Sentra or Nissan."

Alisha Washington testified that she was working at the Walgreens drugstore at St. Claude and Catherine Avenues at the time of the robbery. She identified defendant as a person she saw using a pay telephone at the drugstore that day. Ms. Washington testified that defendant looked suspicious, because he was paying more attention to what was going on around him than the conversation he was having. Ms. Washington then entered the drugstore and began speaking with Mr. Saulney. Defendant entered the store, but then walked back outside to the pay phone. Ms. Washington then exited the store to check on her children, who were in her car. She testified that defendant was using the pay telephone again and that it was at that time that she got the best look at him. She described him as dark-skinned, wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, tennis shoes and a baseball cap. She also stated that he was wearing sunglasses when she first saw him in the phone booth, but he was not wearing them when she went back to her car to check on the children.

Ms. Washington testified that she then walked back into the store and noticed the defendant entering in front of her. Defendant walked toward the office; and Ms. Washington walked toward the cosmetics counter. She subsequently heard someone in the front of the store talking loudly and screaming, but she did not actually witness the robbery. Ms. Washington gave a description of defendant while talking to the employees and concluded from that discussion that defendant was the robber. Ms. Washington later talked to police, and a week later was presented with a photographic lineup. She selected defendant's photograph, although after considering another photograph.

Ms. Washington was confronted with her testimony from prior hearings that she did not remember whether the person she saw was wearing a hat. Ms. Washington's prior testimony indicated that she testified that the defendant had sunglasses on every time she saw him. The State and defendant stipulated that the sunglasses found at the scene, which had been introduced in evidence, belonged to defendant. Ms. Washington testified that she considered defendant to be tall, but was confronted with her prior description that the person she had seen was "maybe" five feet, five inches tall.

*856 New Orleans Police Officer James Adams testified that he stopped a vehicle defendant was driving on August 30, 1994, at approximately 8:00 p.m. Officer Adams first observed defendant driving over the St.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
835 So. 2d 850, 2002 WL 31819224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-doleman-lactapp-2002.