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Barrera-Palamin v. State6/26/2001
ectations of privacy in clothing of inmates based on the offense for which that clothing was tested. As with so many matters pertaining to being confined to jail, there simply is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the clothing taken from a prisoner. Oles v. State, 965 SW2d 641, 644 (Tex. App. 1998).
Because Barrera, once he was lawfully arrested for DUI, had no reasonable expectation that his clothing would not be seized and tested for evidence of a crime, the trial court did not err in denying his motion to suppress. Carter v. State, 224 Ga. App. 367, 368 (480 SE2d 376) (1997); Loden v. State, 199 Ga. App. 683, 687-88 (2) (406 SE2d 103) (1991).
2. Barrera contends the evidence was insufficient to convict him of voluntary manslaughter in that there was no evidence he caused Maldonado's death solely as a result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation sufficient to excite such passion in a reasonable person, as required by OCGA § 16-5-2 (a). Citing Lewandowski v. State, 267 Ga. 831 (483 SE2d 582) (1997), Barrera argues:
The evidence did not show that appellant acted out of passion resulting from provocation sufficient to excite such passion in a reasonable person. . . . It is of no moment whether the provocation (if any existed in this case), was sufficient to excite the deadly passion in a particular defendant.
This argument is without merit. In Lewandowski, the Supreme Court upheld the exclusion of expert testimony regarding a psychological evaluation of a defendant who asserted the defense of provocation to a murder charge. The Supreme Court held that whether the provocation was sufficient to excite the deadly passion in the particular defendant was irrelevant and inadmissible to the fact finder's determination of whether the provocation would have excited a deadly passion in a "reasonable person." 267 Ga. at 832 (2). Lewandowski certainly cannot be read to require the State to offer separate evidence that the provocation was sufficient to excite deadly passion in a reasonable person; " he sufficiency of the provocation was an issue for the [fact finder] to determine." (Footnote omitted.) Williams v. State, 245 Ga. App. 670, 671 (1) (538 SE2d 544) (2000).
Review of the transcript as summarized above reveals ample evidence from which any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Barrera was guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Johnson v. State, 236 Ga. App. 61, 63-64 (1) (510 SE2d 918) (1999); Nelson v. State, 213 Ga. App. 641, 642 (1) (445 SE2d 543) (1994); Mason v. State, 199 Ga. App. 691, 692-93 (1) (405 SE2d 747) (1991).
Judgment affirmed.
Johnson, P. J., and Ruffin, J., concur.
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