Court Opinion

ID: 9846727
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:47:09.538468+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:46.488276
License: Public Domain

Sognier, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur specially with Division 1 of the opinion, and concur with Division 2.
I agree with the statement in Division 1 that the state should not be allowed to offer oral testimony based on a witness’ recollection of the report, in lieu of the written report (prepared by the same witness) requested by the defendant pursuant to the provisions of Code Ann. § 27-1303 (b), thus rendering this section ineffective. Nevertheless, I continue to subscribe to the dissenting opinion of Chief Judge Quillian in Garner v. State, 159 Ga. App. 244 (1) (282 SE2d 909) (1981), where he stated, in referring to a similar discovery statute: “[W]e have held that the proper remedy for a violation thereof is not a defense motion for exclusion of the testimony but a [defense] motion for continuance.”
In Garner the majority stated, as reiterated in the majority opinion here: “[T]he state’s remedy is to announce not ready at the call of the case for trial and [the state should] request a continuance” in the event the requested statement has not been furnished to the defendant at least 10 days prior to trial. While this procedure ostensibly affords the state relief, I can foresee an occasion when the state, faced with a second term deadline after a demand for trial (Code Ann. § 27-1901; Durham v. State, 9 Ga. 306 (2) (1851): Nix v. State, 5 Ga. App. 835 (1) (63 SE 926) (1909)) and, thus, unable to ask for a continuance, finds it cannot comply with §§ 27-1302 or 1303 due to an unavoidable administrative delay on the part of a coroner, pathologist or other expert. Hence, the state would be forced to try a criminal case with inadequate evidence, or face dismissal of criminal charges for failure to comply with §§ 27-1302 and 27-1303. This result *270could be avoided, without prejudice to the defendant or the state, under the interpretation of §§ 27-1302 and 27-1303 set forth in Chief Judge Quillian’s dissent in Garner, supra.