Collins v State – Stipulated Bench Trials are for suckers
Collins v. State, A14A0304, Court of Appeals of Georgia, June 17, 2014. Camela Noelle Collins was found guilty of DUI Less Safe, DUI Per Se (having a blood or breath level over 0.08 grams within three hours of driving), and failure to maintain lane after a stipulated bench trial. The point of the stipulated bench […]
Read MoreWing v. State – Stop after accident reported on 911 need no corroboration
Wing v. State, A14A0136, Court of Appeals of Georgia, May 27, 2014. On April 7, 2013, police received a dispatch over the radio from a 911 operator that a car had struck another car parked in a church parking lot. When the officer arrived at the parking lot he observed a blue car driving away […]
Read MoreMyth: You don’t need a lawyer in a DUI case
You may inadvertently invalidate any legal defenses you have to a DUI by even appearing once in Court without a lawyer. Just ask Desmond Preston. In Preston v. State, A14A0028, Court of Appeals of Georgia, June 12, 2014, Desmond Preston show up for court without a lawyer. He was told he had to file all motions […]
Read MoreHumphries v State – refusal means longer to bond out is not deceptive
Humphries v. State, A14A0626, Court of Appeals of Georgia, June 11, 2014. Jennifer Humphries was found guilty of DUI per se after a stipulated bench trial before Judge Alan Jordan in Cherokee County State Court in Canton. Jennifer Humphries was pulled over for weaving and driving slow in the fast lane in October of 2012. […]
Read MoreImmigration or ICE holds have no legal force
The National Association of Public Defense recently did an expose article on the fallacy of Immigration holds or ICE holds where non-citizens can not be bonded out or released from local jails because immigration authorities have placed a hold on them. Ahold is the result of a warrant signed by a judge or a court […]
Read MoreEdison v State – offer by Police not to take to jail in exchange for a test is not a hope of benefit
Edison v. State, A14A0208, Court of Appeals of Georgia, May 29, 2014. Lise Edison was convicted after a Fulton County Bench Trial of DUI less safe drugs after a bench trial. Edison was observed on July 20, 2008, weaving on the freeway and almost hitting another car. Edison looked sleepy and had droopy eyes and […]
Read MoreCarder v State – vehicular homicide can proceed after statute of limitations run on underlying DUI
Carder v. State, A14A0221, Court of Appeals of Georgia, June 4, 2014. Tammy Fay Carder was arrested for DUI, Reckless Driving, and driving on the wrong side of the road on August 4, 2008, after crossing over the center line and striking another vehicle killing a passenger while smelling of wine in Forsyth County. She […]
Read MoreFlading v State – License Suspension Hearing Agreements are admissible as stipulations at Trial
Flading v. State, A14A0557, May 22, 2014. John Flading was convicted by a Fulton County jury of DUI less safe and failure to maintain lane after an arrest for DUI in the City of Roswell. The issue on appeal is whether the Agreement to rescind his administrative license suspension of one year for refusing the State’s […]
Read MoreNPR examines how the justice system has gotten into the business of raising revenue on the backs of the poor
The United States Supreme Court in Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660 (1983), held that courts cannot imprison a person for failure to pay a criminal fine unless the failure to pay was “willful.” In 1971 there were fewer than 200,000 inmates in our state and federal prisons. By 2012, that number had risen to over 1,500,000 or about the population […]
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