Pedersen v State – boarding a DNR boat for BUI fields does not trigger Miranda
Pedersen v. State, 337 Ga App 159, 786 SE2d 535 (2016). Erick Pedersen was convicted of Boating Under the Influence after a jury trial in Hall County State Court. Pedersen was stopped by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for operating his pontoon boat with docking lights such that the boat’s navigation lights were not […]
Read MoreMuthu v State – Judicial Comment-DUI Experts-Mistrial
Muthu v. State, 337 Ga. App. 97, 786 SE2d 696 (2016). Muthu appealed his conviction after a jury found him guilty of DUI per se, DUI less safe, and failure to maintain lane. Muthu alleged improper judicial comment, restricting of his DUI Expert regarding the effects of acid reflux or GERD on the State Administered […]
Read MoreNew Georgia protections to guard against eye witness misidentification in lineups and showups
O.C.G.A. 17-20-1, 17-20-2 and 17-20-3 went into effect on July 1st, 2016 to ensure fairer and more balanced procedures for eyewitness live lineups, photo lineups and show ups. These new procedures were created to help reduce wrongful convictions due to faulty eye witness identification in court. Memory is fabricated and not real. Recency has the potential to […]
Read MoreState v Osterloh – speaking in tongues not actual consent for a DUI blood test
State v. Osterloh, A17A1199, August 30, 2017. The Trial Court granted Christopher Osterloh’s motion to suppress the results of his State-Administered DUI blood test. The State appealed arguing that Defendant had given actual, knowing, intelligent, uncoerced consent to testing. Osterloh was traveling north on Georgia 400 when he was struck by another vehicle. Osterloh’s vehicle […]
Read MoreDUI Improper Closing Argument- What if he had a gun?
Hopkins v. State, A16A0264, May 18, 2016. Akeem Hopkins appealed his conviction for DUI, obstruction, interference with government property, failure to stop, failure to register the vehicle, and simple assault as a result of the trial court’s failure to grant a mistrial after the prosecutor made an improper closing argument. During the closing argument, the […]
Read MoreJudges can not control jail good time credit
In Davis v. State, 181 Ga. App. 498, 353 SE2d 7 (1987), a trial judge attempted to prevent the sheriff from giving a DUI defendant good time credit on a 12-month jail term with no probation until his $1000 fine was paid. The Judge knew that with no probation there was no way to enforce […]
Read MoreRed and Glassy Eyes Not Georgia DUI Probable Cause
On May 18, 2016, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed Governor Nathan Deal’s son, Jason Deal’s finding of no probable cause in Dawson County Superior Court, in Blanchard v. State, A16A0086, May 18, 2016. Wendy Blanchard was arrested for DUI, open container, and driving on a suspended license. At 3 pm on July 23, 2014, […]
Read MoreGSP to crack down on DUIs after Georgia-Tennessee Game
On September 29, 2016, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Georgia State Patrol is planning on increased DUI enforcement including saturation patrols and roadblocks after the Georgia vs. Tennessee Game in Athens, Georgia. The Nighthawks Taskforce is a highly specialized unit of the Georgia State Patrol with a DUI Police Specialist. We have been fighting the […]
Read MoreMedical Records are admissible without a witness in a Georgia DUI
On February 16, 2016, in Samuels v. State, 335 Ga. App. 819, 783 SE2d 344 (2016), the Georgia Court of Appeals medical records may be admitted into evidence without a testifying witness including diagnoses and medical opinions as business records under OCGA 24-8-803(6) if presented as Declarations under OCGA 24-9-902(11). The Court began its analysis by looking at OCGA […]
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