Can police use blood taken at a hospital against me in a DUI?
Can the police use my hospital records after a car accident for a DUI? The short answer is yes even though there are 25 reasons that they should not. In King v. State, 276 Ga. 126, 577 S.E.2d 764 (2003)(King II), the Georgia Supreme Court approved the use of search warrants as a means of obtaining […]
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 MoreNo right to an independent test if police get a warrant for blood
Hynes v. States, A17A0633, May 31, 2017. James Hynes was charged with failure to maintain lane, DUI less safe, and DUI per se. Hynes filed a motion to suppress the results of a blood test obtained under a search warrant for the failure of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Deputy to accommodate his request for an […]
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 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 MoreBirchfield Beylund and Bernard Arguments at the SCOTUS
Birchfield v. North Dakota; Beylund v. North Dakota; and, Bernard v. Minnesota oral arguments were held at the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 20th, 2016. The primary issue in these three cases is whether it violates the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution to criminalize the exercise that amounts to a 4th […]
Read MoreFarmer v State – asking for a Urine test in response to Implied Consent
In Farmer v. State, 335 GA. App. 679, 782 S.E.2d 786 (2016), the Court of Appeals found that asking for a urine test in response to the Georgia Implied Consent Rights is not a request for an additional test but only requesting that the Officer designate that test. The Court distinguished McGinn v. State, 268 Ga. App. […]
Read MoreBrown v State – more than 13 miles too far for independent test
Brown v. State, A15A1425, Affirmed (November 13, 2015). Raymond Brown was arrested for DUI in Lawrenceville, Georgia in Gwinnett County. Officer Long of the Lawrenceville Police Department stopped Brown after observing him driving erratically. Officer Long performed standardized field sobriety evaluations and arrested Brown for DUI. He read Brown’s statutory Georgia Implied Consent Breath Testing […]
Read MoreWellstar Hospitals in Metro Atlanta refuse to conduct DUI blood tests on non-consenting drivers
WSB-TV reported on September 1st, 2015 that Wellstar Hospital System in Metro-Atlanta is refusing to draw the blood of non-consenting drivers even when a warrant is issued. Hospital officials have stated that law enforcement is welcome to draw the blood but hospital employees will not be drawing the blood. Hospitals said simply that their personnel […]
Read More