Christian Daniel Laurente-Solano v. State of Georgia

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 19, 2020
• Docket: A20I0235
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 19, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20I0235. CHRISTIAN DANIEL LAURENTE-SOLANO v. STATE OF GEORGIA.

Christian Daniel Laurente-Solano, who is charged with DUI, moved to suppress the results of a chemical test of his blood that was administered by a nurse in a jailhouse holding cell pursuant to a warrant. Laurente-Solano argued that the blood draw violated his Fourth Amendment rights because it was conducted in an unsanitary, non-medical location. See Schmerber v. California, 384 U. S. 757, 771- 772 (IV) (86 SCt 1826, 16 LE2d 908) (1966) (leaving open the question of whether a blood draw “made by other than medical personnel or in other than a medical environment” would violate the Fourth Amendment). The trial court rejected Laurente-Solano’s constitutional challenge, and he now seeks interlocutory review in this Court. The Supreme Court “has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United States[.]” Atlanta Independent School System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657, 657 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996) (citing Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (1)). This jurisdiction extends “only to constitutional issues that were distinctly ruled on the trial court and that do not involve the application of unquestioned and unambiguous constitutional provisions[.]” State v Davis, 303 Ga. 684, 687 (1) (814 SE2d 701) (2018). Because the trial court distinctly ruled on Laurente-Solano’s constitutional challenge, and because there appears to be no binding precedent on this issue, jurisdiction over this application may lie in the Supreme Court. Further, the Supreme Court has the ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction. See Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis & Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d 587) (1996). For these reasons, this application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/19/2020 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.