State court's DUI ruling affects 100 Athens cases

A Georgia Supreme Court ruling this week that an alleged drunken driver’s refusal to submit to a breath test cannot be used as evidence in court might affect dozens of pending DUI cases in Athens.

The high court unanimously agreed in the Monday ruling that noting in court a suspect's refusal to take a breath test violates the Georgia Constitution’s protection against self-incrimination.

Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General C.R. Chisholm said breath test results were not always needed for successful prosecution, and that he and his staff would be examining about 100 pending DUI cases before proceeding in court.

“We will decide on how to further prosecute each case based on the evidence in each case,” he said.

Among those cases is that of Andrea Marie Elliott, whose refusal to take a breath test during an Aug. 20, 2015, traffic stop in Athens formed the basis of the Supreme Court ruling.

According to a police report, Elliott was a 26-year-old Athens resident when her Hummer was stopped on Barnett Shoals Road by an officer who noticed she was tailgating another vehicle. When following the Hummer the officer saw the vehicle veering from its lane and run a red light.

When speaking to Elliott the officer noted in his report he noticed “a very strong odor” of alcoholic beverage on her breath and her speech was slurred.

The woman agreed to submit to some tests so the officer could determine if it was safe for her to drive, including tracking her eye movements and pupil size, which she failed, noted police.

When asked if she would take a breath test, Elliott declined because “she indicated that (the test) was voluntary and she had something to drink,” according to the police report.

Elliot was arrested and charged with DUI, failure to obey a traffic control device, following another vehicle too closely, failure to maintain lane and driving while her license was suspended, according to the report.

As of Tuesday, Elliott’s case remained pending in Athens-Clarke County State Court.

“We will be discussing potential resolutions with her attorney,” the solicitor general said.

Chisholm said the Elliott opinion will not significantly change how police do their job.

“Our local law enforcement will continue to enforce the DUI laws here in Athens-Clarke County,” he said. “The only difference will be that instead of reading implied consent to request a state administered breath test, as has been the practice in most DUI cases, officers will now read implied consent to request a blood test in all DUI cases.”

When a person refuses to provide a blood sample, police can seek search warrants that compel suspected offenders to comply. E-warrants allow judges to remotely sign search warrants while an alleged offender is being detained.

Officers will continue to use their observations of an alleged offender’s appearance and behavior and look for open containers of alcohol to establish probable cause for a DUI arrest. They can also present such evidence as a driver’s erratic behavior, odor of alcohol, slurred speech or other indications of impairment.

Chisholm said the Elliot opinion does not apply to standardized field sobriety testing, where suspected offenders voluntarily demonstrate their ability to, among other things, stand on one leg, walk a straight line and count backwards.

“Officers will gather evidence to establish probable cause just as they have always done,” Chisholm said.

“Due to the (Supreme Court) ruling, the DUI evidence collection process could take longer, but we will continue to enforce drunk or impaired driving laws,” Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Cleveland Spruill said Tuesday. “The ruling means that it might take more time for the officer to complete a DUI investigation, but the ACCPD will still look for and arrest drunk or impaired drivers."