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Brogdon v. State, A09A1269, Police can obtain a DUI search warrant for medical records

In Brogdon v. State, A09A1269, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the use of a DUI search warrant to obtain medical records regarding a driver after an accident where an open beer can was found in the car and the driver smelled of alcohol by the Gwinnett County State Court trial judge.  The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected the Gwinnett County DUI Lawyer’s arguments that the warrant should be suppressed because it violated the “private papers” protections from search warrants contained in O.C.G.A. 17-5-21 and seemingly ignores Sears v. State, 262 Ga. 126 (1993) holding that King v. State, 272 Ga. 788 (2000) implicitly overruled Sears even though the private papers objection was not made in King. The medical records are covered by the Doctor-Patient Privilege and the exception of the private paper to the warrant statute was designed for just this type of personal paper.  Should doctors be required to give DUI Medical Miranda rights? “You have the right to remain silent and refuse treatment.  Anything you say or any medical treatment you receive may be used against you in a court of law?”  This sounds like a good case for the Georgia Supreme Court to decide.