Rodriguez v US – no such thing as a de minimis expansion of traffic stop under the 4th Amendment
Rodriguez v. the United States, No. 13-9972, United States Supreme Court, Vacated and Remanded, April 21, 2015. Officer Struble, a K-9 police officer, made a traffic stop after observing Rodriguez driving on the highway shoulder. After checking Rodriguez’s license, tag, and insurance and the licenses of the passengers, Struble issued Rodriguez a warning for driving […]
Read MoreChavez-Ortega v State – by their deeds you shall know an arrest
Chavez-Ortega v. State, A14A2188, Reversed, March 24, 2015. By their words, they will deceive, but by their deeds, ye shall know them. Jonathan Chavez-Ortega was charged with DUI. Chavez was arrested by Cobb County Police. He was initially questioned and then he was detained, placed in handcuffs, and put in the rear of a police […]
Read MoreHughes v State- Probable Cause for DUI if reasonable cops can differ
DUI Probable Cause Hughes v. State, S14G0622, March 16, 2015. Jack Hughes was required by police to submit to a blood test at the request of police after a fatal accident. Hughes moved to suppress the blood test result after he was charged as a result of there being no probable cause that he was DUI. […]
Read MoreState v Barnes – Not not rescinded but rather fair and reasonable
State v. Barnes, A14A1915, Court of Appeals of Georgia, March 27, 2015. The State appealed the Fayette County State Court’s order suppressing a DUI alcohol breath test result because Barnes’ refusal to take the test was not rescinded. Barnes was pulled over and, after an investigation including a portable breath result, was arrested for DUI. She […]
Read MoreCalifornia Supreme Court – DUI Field Sobriety Tests do not predict impairment
DUI Law Appellate Quote of the day: Coffey v. Shiomoto, No. s213545, California Supreme Court (April 6, 2015);— P.3d —-, 2015 WL 1514610 (Cal.): “National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the results of a study in 1998 that evaluated the accuracy of the standardized field sobriety test (SFST) battery at BACs below 0.10 percent. (Stuster […]
Read MoreWilliams v State – the Constitution is not a loophole or a technicality
Williams v. State, S14A1625, March 27, 2015. A legal earthquake is shaking things up in Georgia’s DUI law. John Williams was convicted of driving under the influence of drugs. He moved to suppress the state-administered blood test on the basis that Georgia’s Implied Consent Statute does not amount to the required voluntary consent under the […]
Read MoreNguyen v State-why even a .078 DUI is not DIY
Nguyen v. State, A14A1806, March 2, 2015. Trung Nguyen was convicted of a DUI after representing himself. He appealed arguing that the Court erred in allowing the introduction of a prior DUI into evidence and allowing the prosecutor to comment about the prior DUI in her opening statement. He also appealed arguing that he did […]
Read MoreParker v State- Proffers can be hearsay
Parker v. State, S14G1005, Feb. 16, 2015. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Georgia’s new Evidence Code allows hearsay evidence in determining whether an out-of-state person is a material witness to a Georgia criminal proceeding under our State’s Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Without the State, OCGA 24-13-90. Under § 24-1-2 […]
Read MoreChernowski v State – what do you do with a problem like Fulton County
Chernowski v. State, A14A2151, February 12, 2015. Dora Chernowski appealed her DUI conviction resulting from a 2004 single-car accident in Fulton County. She claimed that her Due Process rights were violated by a seven-year delay in the transmission of the trial court record to the Georgia Court of Appeals. She was tried and convicted by […]
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