Buffington v. State
| Decision Date | 06 February 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 77413,77413 |
| Citation | 378 S.E.2d 884,190 Ga.App. 365 |
| Parties | BUFFINGTON v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Robinson Law Firm, LeRoy W. Robinson, Jr., Gainesville, for appellant.
C. Andrew Fuller, Dist. Atty., Jessica K. Vaughn, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.
Appellant was tried before a jury and convicted of possession of cocaine. He appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered by the trial court on the jury's verdict of guilty.
1. Appellant enumerates the general grounds. The evidence showed the following: Appellant was arrested for driving under the influence. He consented to the performance of a blood test. A sample of appellant's blood was tested by a forensic toxicologist at the Georgia State Crime Lab. The testing of the sample revealed the presence of a cocaine metabolite which "only comes from cocaine."
Cauthen v. State, 177 Ga.App. 565, 566, 340 S.E.2d 199 (1986). See also Bentley v. State, 183 Ga.App. 112, 113(3), 358 S.E.2d 274 (1987). Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence produced at trial to authorize any rational trior of fact to find appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of possession of cocaine. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Stevens v. State, 165 Ga.App. 814, 815(1), 302 S.E.2d 724 (1983).
2. The admission into evidence of the results of the analysis of appellant's blood samples is enumerated as error. Appellant urges that there was no proof that the blood was taken by a qualified individual.
"When a person shall undergo a chemical test at the request of a law enforcement officer under [OCGA s] 40-5-55, only a physician, registered nurse, laboratory technician, or other qualified person may withdraw blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content therein...." OCGA § 40-6-392(a)(2). The undisputed testimony was that appellant's blood sample was taken by a laboratory technician at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Accordingly, this enumeration is without merit.
3. The State was allowed to introduce into evidence the results of the blood tests over appellant's further objection that a proper chain of custody for the blood samples had not been established. This evidentiary ruling is enumerated as error.
" Johnson v. State, 184 Ga.App. 745(1), 362 S.E.2d 450 (1987). See also Rucker v. State, 250 Ga. 371, 373(1), 297 S.E.2d 481 (1982); Meadows v. State, 135 Ga.App. 758, 219 S.E.2d 174 (1975). " ...
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U.S. v. Blackston
...260 Ga. at 625, 398 S.E.2d at 361; see Stevens v. State, 165 Ga.App. 814, 815, 302 S.E.2d 724, 725 (1983); Buffington v. State, 190 Ga.App. 365, 365, 378 S.E.2d 884, 885 (1989); Sparks v. State, 195 Ga.App. 589, 590, 394 S.E.2d 407, 408 (1990). Rather, the Georgia Supreme Court explained, "......
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Winter v. State, A01A2103.
...the chain of custody is not broken and the evidence is admissible, with any doubts going to its weight. Buffington v. State, 190 Ga.App. 365, 366(3), 378 S.E.2d 884 (1989), overruled on other grounds, Green v. State, 260 Ga. 625, 626(1), 398 S.E.2d 360 (1990). Accord Slade v. State, 222 Ga.......
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Green v. State
...307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Stevens v. State, 165 Ga.App. 814, 815(1), 302 S.E.2d 724 (1983)." Buffington v. State, 190 Ga.App. 365(1), 378 S.E.2d 884 (1989). 2. The appellant contends that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the invocation of the mandatory condition......
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Green v. State
...possessed the cocaine he subsequently ingested. Sparks v. State, 195 Ga.App. 589(1), 394 S.E.2d 407 (1990); Buffington v. State, 190 Ga.App. 365, 378 S.E.2d 884 (1989); Bentley v. State, 183 Ga.App. 112, 358 S.E.2d 274 (1987); Cauthen v. State, 177 Ga.App. 565, 340 S.E.2d 199 (1986); Steven......