Tiger Woods Incident: Silence is a legal right guaranteed by the Constitution
Tiger Woods’s recent traffic mishap in Orlando, Florida after Thanksgiving brings out interesting issues on how to handle police DUI investigations after a single-car accident. Police are looking for wrongdoing. It is that simple. When someone is looking for wrongdoing, they usually will find it. How you ask could Tiger Woods get in trouble for […]
Read MorePotter v. State, A09A2109, December 03, 2009
In Potter v. State, A09A2109, December 3, 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals held, in a DUI and vehicular homicide case in Walker County, LaFayette, Georgia, that a DUI prosecution may be based on a hospital blood test which uses only blood serum rather than whole blood as required by Georgia law when the State produced […]
Read MoreEngland v. State, A09A2181, December 2, 2009
In England v. State, A09A2181, December 2, 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals held in Forsyth County DUI arrest heard in Cumming, Georgia, that when asked by a police officer for a breath test under the implied consent law and the driver replies “I would rather have a blood test” is not a request for an […]
Read MoreStrickland v. State, A09A0988, pretrial bond conditions not double jeopardy
The Georgia Court of Appeals held in Strickland v. State, A09A0988 that pretrial bond conditions set by a Gwinnett County DUI Judge in Lawrenceville, Georgia do not violate the double jeopardy provisions of the United States and Georgia Constitution. The Gwinnett County DUI defendant had been arrested for her 3rd DUI with a blood-alcohol level of .326. The […]
Read MoreDavis v. State, A09A2057, dangers of self-representation even if you are a lawyer
In Davis v. State, A09A2057, November 13, 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the State Court of Troupe County in LaGrange Georgia in the DUI conviction of Franklin Attorney Dock H. Davis. Mr. Davis represented himself. Mr. Davis was in an accident a 6:15 p.m. wherein he allegedly hit a utility pole in […]
Read MoreAre Atlanta and Georgia DUI police officers required to read Miranda Rights at a DUI traffic stop?
The answer is yes and no. Georgia DUI arrestees like all criminal suspects possess a right to remain silent and not incriminate themselves. These are most commonly known as Miranda rights but come from the Fifth Amendment rights of the United States Constitution, rights under the Georgia Constitution, or rights under O.C.G.A. 24-9-20. See O’Donnell […]
Read MoreGeorgia DUI Implied consent rights are invalid if read 57 minutes after arrest for DUI
On September 22, 2009, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Thrasher v. State, a DUI drug case involving methamphetamine impairing driving. The DUI occurred in Chatsworth, Georgia in Murray County. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that the DUI blood test should have been suppressed since the Defendant was arrested at the scene of an […]
Read MoreFlorida experts declare the DUI Breath Testing device, Intoxilyzer 5000, scientifically unreliable
Heraldtribune.com reported on September 20, 2009, that two top experts have declared the DUI Breath testing device known as the Intoxilyzer 5000 scientifically unreliable in Florida. Florida law only required the Intoxilyzer 5000 to be checked for calibration for DUI breath tests once a month. The new DUI breath testing machine used by Florida, the […]
Read MoreBrogdon v. State, A09A1269, Police can obtain a DUI search warrant for medical records
In Brogdon v. State, A09A1269, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the use of a DUI search warrant to obtain medical records regarding a driver after an accident where an open beer can was found in the car and the driver smelled of alcohol by the Gwinnett County State Court trial judge. The Georgia Court of […]
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