When you say I will only take a blood test in a Georgia DUI
Imagine a hypothetical, a driver is arrested for DUI in Georgia, Georgia Implied Consent is read and the Officer designates a breath test. When the Intoxilyzer 9000 is set up, the driver states that he will not take a breath test but that he will only take a blood test. No other rights are read […]
Read MoreDUI Breath tests are about to be Unconstitutional in Georgia
Oral Arguments in the Georgia Supreme Court were held in Olevik a/k/a Plevik v. State, S17A0738, on August 18, 2017. The arguments were very telling. The defendant was essentially asserting that Police can not compel acts under the Georgia Constitution, and wrapping your lips around a breath tube, directing air for a minimum period, and […]
Read MorePedersen 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 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 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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