How Strickland v. State Could Benefit People Cited for DUI in Georgia
Strickland v. State: A Victory for Defendants charged on traffic violations like DUI and charged on a paper Uniform Traffic Citations in Georgia In a 2019 case, Strickland v. State, 349 Ga. App. 673, 675(2), 824 S.E.2d 555 (2019), the Georgia Court of Appeals held that a traffic citation or paper traffic ticket that […]
Read MoreYour Right Against Self-Incrimination and DUI: What You Need to Know
The Ammons v. State Case: Protecting the Right Against Self-Incrimination In Ammons v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a defendant’s right against self-incrimination under the Georgia Constitution prohibits law enforcement from compelling a person suspected of DUI to perform a preliminary breath test (PBT) or field sobriety tests (FSTs). The defendant in Ammons […]
Read MoreIf you refuse a blood or breath test, police may obtain a warrant for Blood
O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1 (d.1), provides, “Nothing in the Implied Consent Rights or Implied Consent law shall be deemed to preclude the acquisition or admission of evidence of a violation of the Georgia DUI laws if obtained by a search warrant as authorized by the Constitution or laws of this state or the United States.” This […]
Read MoreElliott v State – Elliott is not a fat kid with glasses who eats paste – Elliott is a constitutional rock star
Elliott v. State, S18A1204, Supreme Court of Georgia, February 18, 2019. In Elliott v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that Art. 1, Sect. 1, Para XVI of the Georgia Constitutional prohibits the admission into evidence of the refusal of a compelled breath test under the Georgia Implied Consent law as an act of self-incrimination. […]
Read MoreSpencer v State – clues do not equate to BAC with out a proper Harper foundation
In Spencer v. State, 302 Ga. 133 (805 SE2d 886) (2017), the Georgia Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Spencer to consider whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the trial court properly admitted a police officer’s testimony correlating the results of a horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) test with a numeric blood alcohol content […]
Read MoreCarl Malamud and his crusade to make access to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated free
On June 21, 2017, the Lawyerist podcast interviewed Carl Malamud about his crusade to bring free public access to laws, statutes, and regulations on the internet. Of particular interest in this podcast, Carl Malamud discussed his battle with the State of Georgia and Lexis-Nexis about the State’s licensing of its Official Code of Georgia Annotated […]
Read MoreCan I pick the test I take after a DUI arrest
Who gets to pick the test administered in a DUI arrest? The short answer is it depends. Let’s assume some hypothetical facts. First, the driver is arrested, Georgia Implied Consent rights are read and the Officer designates either a blood, breath, or urine test. Let’s assume that the police officer chooses a breath test. When […]
Read MoreWhen 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 […]
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