Court of Appeals Affirms Vehicular Homicide Conviction despite reasonable alternative theory on circumstantial evidence
Shy v. State, A10A1696, Georgia Court of Appeals, March 29, 2011.Vehicular Homicide, 1st Degree; Reckless Driving; Failure to Maintain Lane, and Driving with a Suspended License. The city of Atlanta, Fulton County Superior Court Jury Trial. The driver struck Husband and Wife pulled over in the emergency lane of I-285 with a broken-down car killing […]
Read MoreCourt of Appeals rejects hard fought Cherokee DUI and finds fields relevant to establish blood alcohol
Holowiak v. State II, A10A2021, Georgia Court of Appeals, March 29, 2011. DUI per se; DUI less safe. Cherokee County State Court DUI Jury Trial. The Defendant Driver, Holowiak, was stopped at a roadblock in Cherokee County by the Sheriff’s Department. The Officer smelled an odor of alcohol, observed red and glassy eyes, flushed face, […]
Read MoreSandlin v. State, Georgia Court of Appeal, Appeal No. A10A2197, Jan. 19, 2011: Spreading the Love
On January 19, 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals expanded the scope of the Love v. State, 271 Ga. 398 (1999) which held unconstitutional the Georgia DUI statute that equated the presence of marijuana in a person’s blood, breath, or urine to DUI regardless of the effect of the marijuana on the person under the Equal […]
Read MoreWhen avoiding a roadblock is a first tier encounter: Bacallo v. State, Oconee County
Bacallao v. State, A10A1743, January 6, 2011. After a Bench Trial in Oconee County State Court in Watkinsville, Georgia, Denise Bacallao was convicted of DUI. She appealed alleging that her stop and seizure was illegal. She was stopped after a Georgia State Trooper saw her pull into a gas station immediately before a roadblock was […]
Read MoreForsyth County DUI: Intoxilyzer 5000 or the State Breath Test maintenance logs are not relevant in a Breath Test DUI case? Jacobson v. State. What about the Constitutiional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses?
JACOBSON v. STATE, 10A2041, Court of Appeals of Georgia, Decided: November 16, 2010. After a DUI jury trial in Forsyth County State Court at the Forsyth County Courthouse in Cumming, Georgia, Jeffrey Lee Jacobson appealed his conviction for DUI alleging that (i) the Forsyth County Trial Judge improperly commented on the evidence in violation of […]
Read MoreCan Police stop you to investigate if you are DUI in Georgia based on a phone call from another driver?
Accordingly, a general suspicion or a mere hunch is not sufficient to support an investigative stop. Although the primary means by which DUI police officers acquire reasonable suspicion is a personal observation of DUI driving, information acquired from an informant that exhibits a sufficient indicia of reliability can also be the basis for reasonable suspicion […]
Read MoreCobb County DUI: case can’t be dismissed for failure to list witnesses
Major v. State, A10A1515, Cobb County DUI, list of witnesses with the accusation, (October 05, 2010); Dalthan Major appeals his conviction for DUI before a Cobb County jury in Marietta, Georgia. He appealed claiming that he should have been tried with the witnesses available on the initial date of trial under O.C.G.A. 17-16-21. The Court […]
Read MoreForsyth County DUI: prior DUIs are admissible in a current DUI prosecution as similar transactions
Steele v. State, Forsyth County DUI, A10A0955, admissibility of prior DUI convictions (September 16, 2010). Perry Lee Steele was convicted of DUI by a Forsyth County jury in Cumming, GA. He appealed claiming that the Court improperly admitted evidence of prior DUI convictions without finding that the DUI was being admitted for a proper purpose and […]
Read MoreDawson County DUI: taking person arrested for DUI 45 minutes to personal doctor for independent test not reasonable
Ritter v. State, A10A1492, Dawson County DUI, Independent DUI test, Intox 5000 Calibration Certificates (September 16, 2010): William Ritter was convicted by a Dawson County Jury of DUI in Dawsonville, Georgia. Ritter contends that his request for an independent blood test at his personal doctor’s office in Alpharetta was not reasonably accommodated. The Georgia Court […]
Read More