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Blakely v. State – A12A0625: Avoiding a Roadblock Appeal: Buzz words – “Immediate” and “Sudden”

In Blakely v. State – A12A0625, decided June 14, 2012, Blakely appealed the denial of a motion to suppress evidence from the Superior Court of Elbert County, Elberton, Georgia. The defendant was approaching a roadblock when he “immediately” made a “kind of sudden turn” according to the arrest report. Initially, the arresting officer testified that Defendant was about a quarter of a mile away, over a hill and around a curve and that they could barely see him. At trial, the arresting officer testified that he could see him. Defendant claimed that he never even saw the roadblock and that he had forgotten his wallet and turned around to get it. The Court of Appeals found that, because there was a conflict in the testimony and a question of witness credibility, there was enough evidence of evasion action to support the “articulable suspicion” that the Defendant was avoiding the roadblock and not otherwise legally turning around. Therefore, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court of Elbert County’s denial.

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