State v. Whitfield

Citation214 Ga.App. 574,448 S.E.2d 492
Decision Date02 September 1994
Docket NumberNo. A94A1763,A94A1763
PartiesThe STATE v. WHITFIELD.
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals (Georgia)

Gerald N. Blaney, Jr., Sol., Richard E. Thomas, Susan C. Devane, Asst. Sols., for appellant.

Jeffrey R. Sliz, Lawrenceville, for appellee.

BLACKBURN, Judge.

The State appeals the trial court's order granting defendant Jimmy Dean Whitfield's motion to suppress the results of the Intoximeter 3000 test and the field sobriety tests administered to him.

1. The trial court determined the officer failed to read Whitfield his implied consent rights until 25 to 30 minutes after the officer first became aware of Whitfield's condition, and that the officer's explanation for this delay was inadequate. We cannot agree.

Two officers arrived at Whitfield's residence in response to an aggravated domestic situation call. Upon Officer Simmons' arrival, he saw Whitfield in a pickup truck attempting to pull away from the driveway. Officer Simmons testified that he and Officer Rollison restrained and arrested Whitfield after he attempted to strike Officer Rollison. Whitfield was arrested for obstruction of an officer at the scene; he was not arrested for DUI until he was at the police station. At that time, Whitfield was read his implied consent rights.

In Perano v. State, 250 Ga. 704, 708, 300 S.E.2d 668 (1983), our Supreme Court concluded "that where a law enforcement officer requests a person to submit to a chemical test because of acts alleged to have been committed while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and the officer arrests that person on this ground, OCGA § 40-6-392(a)(4) ... requires that the officer inform him at the time of arrest of his right to an independent chemical analysis to determine the amount of alcohol or drugs present in his blood." In the present case, it is uncontroverted that Whitfield was not arrested for DUI until after he was taken into custody and transported to the police station. Therefore, his implied consent rights were read to him at the time of his arrest for DUI.

2. In Reeve v. State, 208 Ga.App. 517, 518, 430 S.E.2d 873 (1993), we determined that an officer's testimony regarding his authority to operate the Intoximeter 3000 was sufficient. Therefore, the trial court erred in granting Whitfield's motion to suppress on this basis.

3. In its final enumeration of error, the State contends that the trial court erred in granting Whitfield's motion to suppress evidence of...

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10 cases
  • State v. O'Donnell
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 17 Marzo 1997
    ...court's grant of the defendant's motion to suppress based on the officer's failure to warn him of his rights. See State v. Whitfield, 214 Ga.App. 574(3), 448 S.E.2d 492 (1994). We note that in Smith v. State, 202 Ga.App. 701, 702(1), 415 S.E.2d 495 (1992), we stated that field sobriety test......
  • State v. Coe
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 29 Marzo 2000
    ...Miranda warnings are inadmissible under OCGA § 24-9-20(a), which codifies privilege against self-incrimination); State v. Whitfield, 214 Ga.App. 574(3), 448 S.E.2d 492 (1994) (post-arrest field sobriety tests inadmissible without Miranda 9. Allen v. State, 254 Ga. 433, 434(1)(a), 330 S.E.2d......
  • Price v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 19 Marzo 1998
    ...225 Ga.App. 502, 504, 484 S.E.2d 313 (1997); State v. Pastorini, 222 Ga. App. 316, 317-18, 474 S.E.2d 122 (1996); State v. Whitfield, 214 Ga.App. 574, 448 S.E.2d 492 (1994); see also Keenan v. State, 263 Ga. 569, 571, 436 S.E.2d 475 (1993) (when defendant not in custody, request to take alc......
  • State v. Pastorini
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 12 Julio 1996
    ...Id. The dissent's reliance on Hughes v. State, 259 Ga. 227, 228(1), 378 S.E.2d 853 (1989) and State v. Whitfield, 214 Ga.App. 574(3), 448 S.E.2d 492 (1994) in support of its conclusion that the trial court did not clearly err in this case is misplaced. Both of those cases are distinguishabl......
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