Source: https://www.thesessionslawfirm.com/dui-drugs-lawyer/
Timestamp: 2020-01-22 17:30:44
Document Index: 718146198

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40', '§ 40']

DUI Drugs Lawyer: Defending a Georgia DUI Drugs Charge
Georgia DUI less safe charges are one of the most confusing charges to defendants and, unfortunately, many lawyers. The confusion surrounding Georgia DUI less safe charges arises primarily from the belief that in a DUI case there must be a chemical of blood, breath, or urine to establish that the suspect is under the influence alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs.
DUI – DRUGS CHARGES IN GEORGIA ARE USUALLY PROSECUTED AS DUI LESS SAFE CHARGES
Most DUI drugs must cases must be prosecuted as a DUI less safe charge. For many DUI drugs cases, even if you are not taking a drug under a prescription, the state must still establish that you were impaired as a result of the drugs. In other words, although you were not in lawful possession of the drugs, the state cannot simply rely upon the presence of the drugs within you to establish a DUI charge:
To sustain a conviction of DUI-less safe, it is not sufficient to show merely that Head was driving after having ingested, at some point in time, alprazolam and cocaine. Rather, the state must prove that Head “was a less safe driver as a result of being under the influence of [these drugs].” (Citation and punctuation omitted; emphasis in original.) Ricks v. State, 255 Ga.App. 188, 190, 564 S.E.2d 793 (2002). See also State v. Ellison, 271 Ga.App. 898, 902(3)(b), 611 S.E.2d 129 (2005) (“Mere presence of [drugs] is not the issue…. [T]he [s]tate must prove that the defendant had impaired driving ability as a result of [the drugs].”) (Punctuation and footnote omitted); Bowen v. State, 235 Ga.App. 900, 901–902, 510 S.E.2d 873 (1999). Cf. State v. Rish, 295 Ga.App. 815, 816, 673 S.E.2d 259 (2009) ( “If the evidence shows only that a driver is intoxicated and does not show that his consumption of alcohol [or drugs] has impaired his ability to drive, there is no probable cause to arrest for DUI-less safe.”).
Georgia DUI less safe charges are among the difficult concepts for defendants to grasp. If you have questions regarding your Georgia DUI case, please contact our office.
Many lawyers handling DUI drugs cases really don’t have experience with the evidence that must be prepared to challenge in these cases. Many aspects of the DUI drugs case, particularly the quasi-“scientific” field sobriety tests, are different than the field sobriety tests you may see in an alcohol-related DUI case.
There is no per se blood or urine test limit for a DUI based upon prescribed medications or marijuana. Many prosecutors and state toxicologists will attempt to argue that the suggested therapeutic ranges create per se DUI limit for prescription drugs. Anticipate this argument and testimony at trial.
There is no validation study for the use of the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test in DUI drugs cases. There is no case in Georgia approving of the use of HGN evidence under the Harper standard in Georgia.
A Harper challenge should made as to the admissibility of lack of convergence, romberg, and pupil size evidence in DUI drugs cases.
DUI drugs cases are generally much more defensible (winnable) than DUI alcohol cases. There are numerous reasons why that is the truth, but it is just important that you recognize that there are some very good reasons to challenge these cases. In this post, I am going to discuss some of the reasons why I really like defending these cases.
There are commonly mistakes in the charging instruments in DUI drugs cases. In Georgia, there are distinct differences in the DUI drugs less safe statute and the DUI drugs per se statute. Look for the inclusion of “metabolites and derivatives” in a DUI less charge. This presents a great basis for a demurrer to the language of the accusation/indictment.
Below are the 7 drug categories of the drug evaluation and classification (DEC) program employed by drug recognition experts in DUI cases. DREs classify drugs in one of seven categories: Central Nervous System (CNS) Depressants, CNS Stimulants, Hallucinogens, Phencyclidine (PCP) and its analogs, Narcotic Analgesics, Inhalants, and Cannabis. Drugs from each of these categories can affect a person’s central nervous system and impair a person’s normal faculties, including a person’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
CNS depressants “slow” down a person’s brain and central nervous system. Alcohol is the most prominent CNS depressant. Other popular CNS depressants include anti-anxiety tranquilizers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotic tranquilizers and various derivatives of barbituric acid. It seems anomalous to classify “anti-depressants” as depressants; however, medical doctors, toxicologists and DREs generally classify drugs according to their effect on the brain and body, not their effect on mood. Specific drugs include Xanax,Valium, Rohypnol, Halcion, Soma, and GHB.
CNS stimulants “speed up” a person’s mind and central nervous system. Cocaine and methamphetamine are the two most commonly abused stimulants. Ritalin, Cylert, ephedrine, and caffeine are other well-known stimulants.
Hallucinogens impair a user’s ability to perceive reality by distorting perceptions of sight, sound, touch and odors.They may even cause “synesthesia,” a phenomenon where a person “mixes” the senses. For example, the person may “see” sounds or “hear” colors.This category includes natural substances like peyote, psilocybin and morning glory seeds, as well as synthetic substances like lysergic acid (LSD) and Ecstasy (MDMA).
Narcotic analgesics include opiate class drugs and similar synthetic drugs. Most prescription painkillers are narcotic analgesics.This category includes heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone, Oxycontin,Vicodin, Percodan, Fentanyl, Dilaudid, and Demerol. Narcotic analgesics are the only drugs that routinely constrict a person’s pupils. Narcotic analgesics are highly addictive.
It is not uncommon for people to be charged with driving under the influence of prescription drugs in Georgia. DUI charges based upon the alleged consumption of prescription drugs have been steadily increasing. However, there remains a great deal of confusion about how blood test results should be interpreted. Most criminal defense attorneys have no idea how to decipher blood test results showing the presence of prescribed medications. This post is intended to provide you with some guidance in using the Winek Chart for determining therapeutic drug levels in DUI drugs cases. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations Division of Forensic Sciences reports drug levels in mg/L (milligrams per liter), but Winek’s chart is reported in micrograms per milliliter. You do not need to know much about the measurements, but you do need to know that there is a difference in the unit of measurement. Do not be caught off guard with this difference.
HOW DO YOU CONVERT MILLIGRAMS PER LITER TO MICROGRAMS PER MILLILITER, SO THAT WE CAN DETERMINE WHETHER A CLIENT’S BLOOD LEVELS ARE WITHIN THERAPEUTIC RANGES?
1. First, obtain your client’s blood test levels from the GBI.
2. Review Winek’s chart to determine the applicable therapeutic/”normal” blood levels for your client.
How do you fight a DUI drugs case in Georgia?
This is an example of the types of issues/problems that we challenge in DUI drugs cases:
After a stipulated bench trial based upon the transcript of a hearing held upon his demurrer, Head was convicted of DUI of any drug to the extent that it was less safe for him to drive, in violation of OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(2) and driving with a controlled substance in his blood, in violation of OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(6). His DUI drugs per se conviction merged into his DUI-less safe conviction. In his appeal, Head contended that the evidence was insufficient to support his DUI-less safe conviction, and that OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(6) violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Court of Appeals reversed his DUI less safe conviction finding that the evidence was insufficient to support this conviction. However, the Court rejected Head’s constitutional challenge to OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(6). Because Head’s OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(6) conviction was merged into his DUI-less safe conviction for sentencing purposes, the case was remanded to the trial court for resentencing so that Head on the DUI drug per se charge.
Head’s vehicle collided with the side of a charter bus as the bus attempted to make a left hand turn across Head’s lane of traffic. The bus driver was issued a traffic citation in connection with this accident and the officer working the accident found the bus driver to be “at fault.” The investigating officer, however, smelled an odor of alcohol on Head as Head was being treated by EMS personnel. The officer noted that Head had a clear line of sight and what appeared to be time to avoid the accident, yet he saw no evidence that Head attempted to stop prior to the collision and had made only a last moment attempt to swerve. The officer also learned that Head had been at a social function immediately prior to the accident.
Based upon this information, the officer believed Head to be intoxicated, and he read Head his implied consent rights and obtained Head’s consent to submit to a state administered blood test. Head admitted at that time that he had consumed alcohol earlier in the evening. The officer thus issued Head a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent it was less safe, pursuant to OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(1).
Head’s DUI less safe conviction was reversed based on insufficiency of the evidence. The evidence showed that Head had ingested alprazolam and cocaine. The Court of Appeals stated once again that merely showing ingestion of drugs in insufficient to sustain a DUI less safeconviction, and the state must prove that Head “was a less safe driver as a result of being under the influence of [these drugs].” (Citation and punctuation omitted; emphasis in original.) Ricks v. State, 255 Ga.App. 188, 190 (564 S.E.2d 793) (2002). See also State v. Ellison, 271 Ga.App. 898, 902(3)(b), 611 S.E.2d 129 (2005); Bowen v. State, 235 Ga.App. 900, 901-902 (510 S.E.2d 873) (1999).
The state presented evidence that Head had alprazolam and a cocaine metabolite in his blood, and further presented the officer’s opinion testimony that Head should have been able to avoid the collision, although the bus driver-not Head-was cited with the traffic infraction. No evidence was submitted to the trial court which explained the significance of the alprazolam and cocaine metabolite present in Head’s blood, i.e., whether the quantity of the drugs was considered sizeable; whether the quantities indicated recent or merely past usage of the drugs; or what effect the level of drugs found in Head’s blood would have on the average person, specifically whether those drugs would cause any physical and/or mental impairment. Significantly, Head elicited expert testimony that the presence of benzoylecgonine in one’s blood “is not indicative of any impairment because it is the after-effect” of cocaine. There was evidence presented that cocaine metabolites can be detected in a urine sample for up to 48 hours after the ingestion of cocaine.
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