Opinion ID: 1119543
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Testimony of Boy's Town employees

Text: According to trial counsel, Boy's Town, the high school attended by Doleman, was contacted in preparation for Doleman's trial to locate witnesses who could verify whether a Seiko watch found in Doleman's possessions was a gift from Boy's Town. The Seiko watch had been identified by the second victim's girlfriend as the watch she gave to that victim as a gift. Trial counsel also attempted to contact individuals who could give positive testimony regarding Doleman. However, trial counsel testified at the post-conviction evidentiary hearing that the individuals he spoke with were familiar with other crimes that Doleman committed with Payne and could testify at Doleman's penalty hearing only with the permission of Boy's Town. Based on these conversations, Doleman's trial counsel concluded that any Boy's Town employee would be difficult to procure as a witness or would be potentially dangerous as a witness. At the post-conviction evidentiary hearing, Doleman elicited testimony from teachers at Boy's Town. Janet Horan, Doleman's instructor at Boy's Town, testified that she remembered that Doleman excelled at athletics, was an extremely good role model, and received the highest award given to students at Boy's Town. Eugene Horan, Doleman's coach at Boy's Town, testified that Doleman was a leader and could have been the mayor of Boy's Town had he been encouraged to do so. Both of the Horans testified that they would have testified at the penalty phase of Doleman's trial if Boy's Town allowed them to, but they were never contacted by trial counsel. Also, Doleman presented evidence that four other teachers at Boy's Town would have testified that Doleman displayed good character while enrolled at Boy's Town. We conclude that trial counsel did not reasonably investigate the potential testimony from witnesses at Boy's Town. At the post-conviction hearing, trial counsel could not remember with whom he talked at Boy's Town. He apparently failed to locate the Horans or the other four witnesses who were located in preparation for the post-conviction hearing. Without locating many of the people at Boy's Town who knew Doleman, trial counsel could not make a reasonable decision about whether their testimony would be beneficial. Further, if the Boy's Town employees would have been difficult to procure as witnesses for the penalty hearing, trial counsel could have required their presence through subpoenas. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 691-92, 104 S.Ct. at 2066-67. Further, we conclude that the failure to introduce the testimony from the Horans and other Boy's Town employees prejudiced Doleman. The testimony would have illustrated that Doleman flourished in structured environments and was able to adhere to institutional rules. Also, the testimony may have displayed that Doleman can be easily influenced by others, thereby explaining his role as an aider and abetter in the cab driver shooting. Further, the introduction of the records from Boy's Town did not sufficiently convey to the jury what live witnesses who knew Doleman could have conveyed. See Love, 109 Nev. at 1140, 865 P.2d at 324.