Spoone v. State – Mother consented to warrantless entry in son’s DUI investigation
In Spoone v State, 335 Ga. App. 816, 783 SE2d 342 (2016), the Georgia Court of Appeals found that a mother gave consent for police to make a warrantless entry into her house to investigate her adult son who lived in her basement after police followed a liquid trail of leaking automobile fluids to the house […]
Read MoreState v. Williams -Georgia Court of Appeals breakdown on actual consent for DUI testing
On March 27, 2015, In Williams v. State, 296 Ga. 817, 771 SE2d 373 (2015), the Georgia Supreme Court broke the mold on DUI blood, breath, and urine test cases finding in short that the state must provide not just that Georgia Implied Consent Rights had been read but that there was actual consent to search […]
Read MoreGeorgia 2nd Toughest State on DUI behind only Arizona
August 10, 2016. WTVM.com in Columbus Georgia reports a just-released report by wallethub.com that Georgia ranks 2nd in the nation for the toughest DUI conviction penalties. The rankings were based on minimum jail time for 1st and 2nd offenders, aggravation of punishment based on a 10 year look back, license suspension, and fine amounts. This […]
Read MoreSpencer v State- HGN-4 of 6 clues indicates over DUI legal limit
In Spencer v. State, A16A0118, June 9, 2016, the Georgia Court of Appeals concluded in a less safe DUI case that a DUI Police Officer’s testimony at trial that “four out of six clues generally indicates a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than .08.” The Court distinguished Bravo v. State, 304 Ga. App. 243, 247-248, […]
Read MoreSmith v State – DUI and the right to a Constitutional Speedy Trial examined
Smith v. State, A16A0519, Georgia Court of Appeals, July 13, 2016. Jason Smith appealed from his conviction of DUI per se as a result of a five-year delay from his arrest on May 5, 2007, to his bench trial on June 1, 2012. The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court despite […]
Read MoreBirchfield v North Dakota – Need a Warrant for Blood test but just an arrest for Breath test
On June 23, 2016, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Birchfield v. North Dakota that the Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests incident to arrest but not warrantless blood tests. This effectively means that police only need to arrest you for DUI to obtain a breath test and if you refuse or can not […]
Read MoreStudy finds Uber reduces both DUI and late night traffic fatalities
The Federalist.com reported on June 16th, 2016 on a new study by University Economic Professors (Dills, Angela K. and Mulholland, Sean E., Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime (May 31, 2016). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2783797) that Ride sharing apps such as Uber reduce traffic deaths and DUI arrests. The study looked at three years and in over […]
Read MoreCulpepper v State Refresher – Defendant testimony at a motion hearing is not admissible at trial
Culpepper v. State, 132 Ga. App. 733, 209 S.E.2d 18 (1974) is an old but very important case in criminal law. It stands for the proposition that the testimony of a Defendant in a motion to suppress can not be used against him at trial over objection and its ground for automatic reversal. Culpepper came […]
Read MoreAAA Study finds legal limit for Marijuana DUIs have no basis
On May 10, 2016, Azcentral.com reported on a new study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) that found that per se limits for Marijuana DUIs have no scientific basis and do not correlate with impairment. In practical terms, this means that some people who are impaired would escape a Marijuana DUI conviction while others who were not […]
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