City of Atlanta passes ordinance making watching cars do donuts illegal

Watching street racing, burnouts and doughnuts or donuts by street racers in their Dodge Chargers and other hot rods in Atlanta can get you six months in jail and a $1000.00 fine without the right to a jury trial in the Municipal Court of Atlanta based on recently passed ordinance according to MotorTrend.com. This is after […]

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Are Atlanta Georgia Curfews Legal

The United State Supreme Court has yet to examine civil curfew laws. In Toyoshaburo Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), the United States Supreme Court professed to apply “the most rigid scrutiny” to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II but nevertheless found the “assembling together and placing under guard all those of […]

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WSB reports that Atlanta Police are Disbanding their HEAT Unit – DUI Taskforce

Friday, January 23, 2015: WSB Reports that the Atlanta Police Department (APD) is disbanding its DUI Taskforce and spreading the six officers on the Unit across the department to train more officers.  Rumors on the street are that responsible APD officials actually forgot to timely file the grant paperwork necessary to fund the DUI Unit with […]

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Charales v State – State must present evidence of a Constitutionally valid roadblock policy

Charales v. State, A14A1040, November 12, 2014.  R. Charales was found guilty of driving under the influence after a bench trial in Fulton County. Charales appealed after the Court denied his motion to suppress his arrest based upon an allegedly illegal roadblock by Atlanta Police which resulted in his arrest.  The State failed to present evidence […]

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Atlanta Police Department weighing body cameras for police officers

August 21, 2014. WSBTV.com reported that Atlanta police are seriously considering the department-wide implementation of body cameras in the wake of the Michael Brown police shooting which triggered rioting and civil disobedience in Ferguson, Missouri. Typically, these cameras clip to the uniform or can be attached to sunglasses, hats, or the head similar to a google […]

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What is a Honey Badger – Atlanta DUI Officer hit and injured by DUI driver chases him down for the arrest

CBS46.com reported on August 20, 2014.  While conducting a routine traffic stop, an Atlanta DUI Task Force Police Officer was reportedly rear-ended by a DUI -Drunk Driver who then fled in a red pick-up truck;  and, despite suffering neck and back injuries, the Officer chased down the perp to a local gas station where he initiated […]

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Sullivan v. State – it does not take much evidence to uphold a DUI jury verdict

Sullivan v. State, A13A2037, March 21, 2014. Michael Sullivan was arrested for DUI less safe in Atlanta, Fulton County Georgia,  after being observed by Trooper Osby, of the Georgia State Patrol Nighthawk unit, spinning out at an intersection going the opposite direction. Trooper Osby made a u-turn and pulled him over for doing 50 to 55 in a […]

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Smith v. State – outsourcing the Constituitional Responsibilities to Kentucky

Smith v. State, A13A1282, DO-048 C., Court of Appeals of Georgia, Decided: November 15, 2013.  Jason Smith was involved in an automobile accident in Atlanta, Georgia, and Fulton County and arrested for DUI. He was treated by paramedics.  Sergeant Teague of the Atlanta Police Department DUI task force was dispatched to the scene. Sergeant Teague met […]

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HINTON V. STATE (2013) Direct Evidence and the Reasonable Hypothesis Defense

HINTON v. STATE – (2013) – Georgia Court of Appeals Around 11:50 p.m. an Atlanta Police Officer who had served on the APD DUI task force for over seven years, and had made 600 DUI arrests, observed a car traveling toward him that appeared to be speeding. With a laser-speed detection device, the officer determined that […]

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