Israel v. Cofer
| Decision Date | 08 November 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 58748,58748 |
| Citation | 152 Ga.App. 248,262 S.E.2d 545 |
| Parties | ISRAEL v. COFER. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
R. Kran Riddle, Savannah, for appellant.
Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Russell N. Sewell, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
This is an appeal from a summary judgment upholding the determination of the Department of Public Safety that appellant was a habitual violator and revoking his driver's license. Held :
1. Appellant first contends that he could not be declared a habitual violator because he did not meet the definition of such found in Code Ann. § 68B-308 (Ga.L.1975, pp. 1008, 1032; 1977, pp. 307, 308) as only one of his convictions for DUI occurred after the effective date of the statute. Cofer v. Crowell, 146 Ga.App. 639, 247 S.E.2d 152 held that convictions for DUI occurring several years prior to the 1975 effective date of Code Ann. § 68B-308 could be used in making a habitual violator determination. There is no merit to this claim.
2. Prior to July 1, 1978, Code Ann. § 68B-308 stated that three or more convictions within the preceding ten years were required to declare a person a habitual violator. On July 1, 1978, an amendment to this section became effective changing the ten-year period to five years (Ga.L.1978, pp. 225, 226). Appellant had more than three convictions for DUI from 1969 to 1977. Appellant claims that on July 7, 1978, when he received notice of his being declared a habitual violator, the shorter five-year period was in effect and since he did not have three convictions within the preceding five-year period he could not be declared a habitual violator.
Interpreting Code Ann. § 68B-308, this court has decided that the statutory period of time in which the required three or more convictions could be considered for revocation was that which existed as of the date of the last conviction, not that which existed at a subsequent time during revocation proceedings. Kelly v. Cofer, 150 Ga.App. 24, 256 S.E.2d 635. Since appellant's last conviction was in 1977 when the ten-year period was in effect and he had three or more convictions within that period, the contention is without merit.
3. Code Ann. § 68B-308 also states that when the files of the Department of Public Safety reveal that a person is a habitual violator, the department "shall forthwith notify" the person of such status by certified mail or by personal service. Appellant claims his habitual violator status is invalid because he was not notified immediately after the last conviction...
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State v. Henderson
...Compare Hopping v. Cobb County Fair Assn., 222 Ga. 704, 706(2), 152 S.E.2d 356 (1966); Butler v. State, supra; Israel v. Cofer, 152 Ga.App. 248(3), 262 S.E.2d 545 (1979). I am authorized to state that Justice FLETCHER joins in this special 1 The same issue is raised in another case pending ......
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Butler v. State, A92A2342
...a result of the delay." Hopping v. Cobb County Fair Assn., 222 Ga. 704, 706(2), 152 S.E.2d 356 (1966). See also Israel v. Cofer, 152 Ga.App. 248, 249(3), 262 S.E.2d 545 (1979). Compare Sanchez v. Walker County Dept. of Family and Children Serv., supra 237 Ga. at 410-411, 229 S.E.2d 66; In r......
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Galletta v. Hardison, 66739
...sufficiency of the evidence to support the revocation of his license pursuant to that code section. The cases of Israel v. Cofer, 152 Ga.App. 248(2), 262 S.E.2d 545 (1979), and Kelly v. Cofer, 150 Ga.App. 24, 256 S.E.2d (1979), are not authority for a contrary ruling, as the amendment at is......
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Hardison v. Boyd
...to offenses occurring within a specified period. But there is a case on which appellee might justifiably rely. In Israel v. Cofer, 152 Ga.App. 248(2), 262 S.E.2d 545 (1979), this court discussed former Code Ann. § 68B-308 (now OCGA § 40-5-58, the section involved in this case) in terms of c......