Court Opinion

ID: 9566208
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:35:00.735813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:32:05.018496
License: Public Domain

Sognier, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur fully in Case No. A90A0035 and specially in Case No. A90A0036. Although appellant Bernard Williams testified that he struck the officer in defense of his wife, there was some testimony from witnesses suggesting that the altercation arose from Williams’ protest that his arrest was illegal. Nonetheless, I agree with the majority’s conclusion on this enumeration because I believe the arrest of Williams was valid and thus the trial court’s ruling and charge were correct. The officer testified that he arrested Williams for improper backing (violation of OCGA § 40-6-240 (a)) and disorderly conduct. The arrest for disorderly conduct was valid pursuant to OCGA § 17-4-20 (a), which authorizes a warrantless arrest for a crime committed in the presence of or within the immediate knowledge of the arresting officer. See Veit v. State, 182 Ga. App. 753, 755-757 (2) (357 SE2d 113) (1987). Similarly, OCGA § 17-4-23 (a) provides that “[a] law enforcement officer may arrest a person a.ccused of violating any law or ordinance governing the operation ... of motor vehicles by the issuance of a citation, . . . [and] where the offense results in an accident, an investigating officer may issue citations regardless of whether the offense occurred in the presence of a law enforcement officer.” I agree with the reasoning of the Eleventh Circuit in United States v. Wilson, 853 F2d 869, 872-873 (11th Cir. 1988), wherein the court concluded the “may arrest... lay the issuance of a citation” language in OCGA § 17-4-23 (a) affords law enforcement officers the discretion to arrest by issuing citations, but does not preclude a custodial arrest under the circumstances set forth in the statute, which were met here.
*158Decided June 28, 1990.
Patton & Price, Charles G. Price, for appellants.
Stephen F. Lanier, District Attorney, Fred R. Simpson, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.