Blowing smoke just took on a new meaning
Bloomberg Politics reported on December 3rd, 2014 that Washington State University researchers are developing a handheld breath testing device to detect the impairing components of marijuana, THC, for use by police on the side of the road. Driving to the extent you are less safe from Marijuana consumption is illegal in Georgia and probably in all […]
Read MoreSmith v State – DUI Field Evaluations are always admissible
State v. Smith, A14A1127, November 14, 2014. James Smith was charged with DUI less safe and failure to maintain lane. Following a hearing, the trial court suppressed two of the field evaluations performed by the Officer because they were not performed according to his National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) training. Judge Doyle writing for […]
Read MoreState v Padgett – Police requested DUI blood test must go to crime lab
State v. Padgett, A14A1002, November 18, 2014. James Padgett was involved in a motorcycle wreck. Police responding to the accident tested Padgett’s breath with a portable breath test and read Padgett implied consent rights for a DUI blood test. Padgett was transported by ambulance to the hospital and the Police had a nurse at the […]
Read MoreCharales v State – State must present evidence of a Constitutionally valid roadblock policy
Charales v. State, A14A1040, November 12, 2014. R. Charales was found guilty of driving under the influence after a bench trial in Fulton County. Charales appealed after the Court denied his motion to suppress his arrest based upon an allegedly illegal roadblock by Atlanta Police which resulted in his arrest. The State failed to present evidence […]
Read MoreEven Lawyers need heroes and this one is mine
Lawyer Heroes Kimberly Motley is an American lawyer fighting for the rule of law in Afghanistan, of all places, and without a hijab, niqab, or burka. If you think you got bad it bad in your jurisdiction, court, or before your hypoglycemic judge just before lunch, you don’t even know adversity. We need lawyer heroes […]
Read MoreWhy innocent people plead guilty
In the November 20, 2014 issue of The New York Review of Books, Jed Rakoff, explores why innocent people plead guilty. Rakoff notes that before the Civil War, guilty pleas in the American Justice system were rare but in the present-day upwards of 97% of all cases are resolved in negotiated guilty pleas conducted in […]
Read MoreHow drug convictions and DUI drug convictions affect your drivers license
License Suspensions for Drug Crimes and Drug DUI convictions Violations of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act and Drug DUI drivers license suspension are governed by O.C.G.A. §40-5-75. Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 16 is known as The Georgia Controlled Substance Act (VGCSA). Drug DUIs including both illegal drugs and prescription drugs under O.G.C.A. 40-6-391(a)2, (a)4 […]
Read MoreWhy is there a presumption of innocence?
A law review article by Alexander Volokh, n Guilty Men raises the issue of why protecting the innocent matters even at the expense of freeing the guilty. From the earliest days of law school, students were told that the law favors a guilty man to be set free over the conviction of an innocent man. We heard law […]
Read MoreState v Walker – temporary halting is not a submission to authority or seizure under the 4th Amendment
State v. Walker, S13G1793, Georgia Supreme Court, October 20, 2014. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the Georgia Court of Appeals in Walker v. State, A13A0444, July 12, 2013, where the Court of Appeals held that a police officer’s order to take your hands out of your pockets to Ernest Walker who then ran away was a second-tier […]
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