Court Opinion

ID: 9585622
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:02:16.562356+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:21:43.741043
License: Public Domain

Marshall, Justice,
dissenting.
In Nelson v. State, 135 Ga. App. 212 (217 SE2d 450) (1975) it was held that Code Ann. § 68A-902.1 requires an arresting officer to advise an allegedly drunken driver of his right to a chemical test of his blood in addition to the one administered by the state. It was further held in *438Nelson that the legislature intended that this right be made known to the individual so that he could challenge the accuracy of the chemical test administered by the state, and the failure to so inform him renders the results of state’s test inadmissible in evidence. In Garrett v. Dept, of Public Safety, 237 Ga. 413 (228 SE2d 812) (1976), this court, in reliance on Nelson, held that the failure to so inform invalidates the results of any test administered by the state.
In the present case, the court acknowledges that the provisions of Code Ann. § 68A-902.1 apply in "any civil or criminal action or proceeding.” However, the court goes on to hold that the failure to inform the allegedly drunken driver of his right to an additional chemical test renders the results of the state’s test inadmissible only as direct evidence and not for impeachment purposes. As authority, the court cites Harris v. New York, supra, wherein the Supreme Court of the United States held that evidence obtained in violation of Miranda can be admitt ed for the purpose of impeaching the perjured testimony of a criminal defendant. In my opinion, this is where the court’s reasoning breaks down. The exclusionary rule of Miranda was not applied in Harris v. New York so as to render the evidence there inadmissible for impeachment purposes, because the evidence "otherwise satisfied legal standards of trustworthiness.” Harris v. New York, supra, 401 U. S. at p. 222. The clear import of the holdings in Nelson and Garrett is that where the allegedly drunken driver has not been given an opportunity to have administered a chemical test of his own choosing, the results of the state’s test are not considered trustworthy enough to be received in evidence. "Code Ann. § 68A-902.1 seeks to insure that a driver who agrees to have a test made to try to clear himself of a criminal charge (or civil liability) can put up his own test evidence if he distrusts the state’s test. The concern is with the reliability of evidence in the assignment of criminal or civil liability.” Garrett v. Dept, of Public Safety, supra, 237 Ga., at p. 417 (Justice Hall dissenting).