Farmer v State – asking for a Urine test in response to Implied Consent
In Farmer v. State, 335 GA. App. 679, 782 S.E.2d 786 (2016), the Court of Appeals found that asking for a urine test in response to the Georgia Implied Consent Rights is not a request for an additional test but only requesting that the Officer designate that test. The Court distinguished McGinn v. State, 268 Ga. App. […]
Read MoreMikell GA DDS v Hortenstine – Client pays for Attorney mistake for DUI license appeal
Mikell (Georgia Department of Driver Services v. Hortenstine, A15A1576, Rev, November 17, 2015. Robert Mikell, Commissioner of the Department of Driver Services (hereinafter “Department”) appealed from the Trial Court’s order reversing the Department’s decision to deny as untimely, Jayson Hortenstine’s request for an administrative license hearing under OCGA 40-5-67.1. The Court of Appeals held that […]
Read MoreState v Holt-50 minutes DUI investigative detention is not unreasonable
State v. Holt, A15A1483, Reversed, November 17, 2015. Jamie Sue Holt was arrested in Cherokee County, Georgia by the Georgia State Patrol after police spoke with her at a gas pump at a Kroger Gas Station while investigating another separate DUI incident. On April 28, 2014, a Georgia State Trooper was dispatched to a Kroger […]
Read MoreBrown v State – more than 13 miles too far for independent test
Brown v. State, A15A1425, Affirmed (November 13, 2015). Raymond Brown was arrested for DUI in Lawrenceville, Georgia in Gwinnett County. Officer Long of the Lawrenceville Police Department stopped Brown after observing him driving erratically. Officer Long performed standardized field sobriety evaluations and arrested Brown for DUI. He read Brown’s statutory Georgia Implied Consent Breath Testing […]
Read MoreHARTZLER v STATE – Hospital records are not testimonial under Crawford
Hartzler v State, A15A0321, Affirmed, June 30, 2015. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the felony vehicular homicide conviction of Colon Hartzler. Hartzler appealed alleging sufficiency of the evidence, a violation of the Confrontation Clause in the admission of his hospital blood tests, and charging the jury that negligence of the victim was irrelevant for […]
Read MoreIt is about time to end race discrimination in Jury Selection
On November 2, 2015, the New York Times reported on the oral arguments in the United States Supreme Court case of Foster vs. Chatman, Case No. 14-8349. This is a Georgia Death penalty case where an all-white jury convicted Foster of capital murder and the death penalty. After the normal appeals were exhausted, an open record request was […]
Read MoreFrost v State – Special Mens Rea means you have to stipulate stipulate stipulate
Frost v. State, __ GA ___, S14G1767, Reversed, Supreme Court of Georgia, June 15, 2015. In Frost v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the Georgia Court of Appeals finding in Frost that under OCGA 24-4-417 prior DUIs offered to establish knowledge of the Defendant were admissible even if the prior DUI convictions involved refusals and not […]
Read MoreLos Angeles v Patel – How long can OSAH ignore the exclusionary Rule
Georgia DUI cases have two legal tracks in two separate judicial bodies. First, the DUI is filed, plead, and/or contested in criminal courts, such as Local Municipal Courts, Recorders Courts, Probate Courts, State Courts, and Superior Courts. Criminal courts determine criminal guilt and criminal sanctions including jail time, fines, and probation conditions. The second lesser-known […]
Read MoreBostic v State – Trial Court reversed on DUI Probable Cause Denial
Bostic v. State, A15A0600, Reversed, June 25th, 2015. Perry Bostic appealed from the Trial Court’s denial of his motion to suppress his state-administered alcohol breath test from the Laurens County Superior Court wherein the Trial Court found that Police had “probable cause” to arrest him for DUI. The Court of Appeals agreed with Bostic and […]
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