McCafferty v. State

545 S.E.2d 91, 248 Ga. App. 13, 2001 Fulton County D. Rep. 526, 2001 Ga. App. LEXIS 87
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedJanuary 24, 2001
DocketA00A2042
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 545 S.E.2d 91 (McCafferty v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCafferty v. State, 545 S.E.2d 91, 248 Ga. App. 13, 2001 Fulton County D. Rep. 526, 2001 Ga. App. LEXIS 87 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

SMITH, Presiding Judge.

Following a bench trial on stipulated facts, Brandon McCafferty was convicted on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it was less safe for him to be in actual physical control of a vehicle (OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (1)); failure to stop (OCGA §§ 40-6-72; 40-6-1); and failure to maintain lane (OCGA §§ 40-6-48; 40-6-1). McCafferty appeals, contending the trial court erroneously excluded evidence that he rescinded his refusal to take the State-administered breath test. He also contends that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that would have impeached the testimony of the arresting officer. We find no error with respect to the trial court’s rulings concerning McCafferty’s refusal to take the breath test. But because we conclude that the trial court erred in excluding relevant evidence [14]*14bearing on other issues in the case, we reverse.

1. We first address McCafferty’s contention that the trial court erroneously concluded he did not properly rescind his initial refusal to undergo a State-administered breath test. Before trial, McCafferty filed a motion in limine to exclude, among other things, evidence that he refused to take the breath test. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion, concluding that McCafferty’s attempted rescission was not timely under the requirements set out in Dept. of Public Safety v. Seay, 206 Ga. App. 71 (424 SE2d 301) (1992).

McCafferty was arrested by DeKalb County police officer Ryan Frost and was charged with several traffic violations, including DUI. During a hearing on a motion in limine filed by McCafferty, Frost testified that he read McCafferty’s implied consent rights and McCafferty indicated that he did not wish to take the State-administered breath test. Officer Frost stated that he reread the implied consent rights and McCafferty requested to speak with an attorney. Frost told McCafferty that he did not have the right to counsel at the time and transported McCafferty to jail. After McCafferty was booked at the jail, Frost left and returned to his duties. According to Frost, approximately two and one-half hours after he left the jail, while he was involved with another traffic stop, he received a radio call from Officer Brian McGrath, who told him that McCafferty had requested “an additional test at that time,” a blood test. Frost testified he told McGrath that McCafferty “had not satisfied the State’s requirement at the time, that he needed to satisfy the [S]tate’s requirement first, before he proceeds to be taken for an additional test.” Officer James Berg, who was on patrol with Frost when he arrested McCafferty and when he received the radio call from McGrath, testified that McGrath informed Frost that McCafferty had requested a blood test.

McCafferty presented conflicting evidence concerning his jailhouse request for a chemical test. Sergeant James Freeman testified that McCafferty told him he wanted to take a breath test. Freeman also testified that he spoke with McCafferty’s mother on the telephone and she similarly requested that McCafferty be given a breath test. Freeman stated that after McCafferty requested this test, Freeman talked with Officer McGrath, who “was bringing in another arrestee in the intake area,” and told McGrath that McCafferty had requested a Breathalyzer test. He testified that McGrath radioed Frost and advised him of McCafferty’s request to take a breath test and that Frost responded that McCafferty had “already refused the test.” McCafferty’s mother testified that she talked with him on the telephone and that, during their conversation, she heard him state to an officer at the jail that he wanted to take a Breathalyzer test. McCafferty was not given a chemical test of any sort. He contends that the trial court should not have excluded evidence that he [15]*15rescinded his on-the-scene refusal to undergo the breath test.

Relying on Standish v. Dept. of Revenue &c., 235 Kan. 900 (683 P2d 1276) (1984), this court in Seay, supra, set out the factors to be considered when deciding whether an accused has effectively rescinded a refusal to submit to a State-administered chemical test. To be effective, consent to take a State-administered test must occur

(1) within a very short and reasonable time after the prior first refusal; (2) when a test administered upon the subsequent consent would still be accurate; (3) when testing 0 equipment is still readily available; (4) when honoring the request would result in no substantial inconvenience or expense to the police; and (5) when the individual requesting the test has been in the custody of the arresting officer and under observation for the whole time since arrest.

(Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. at 73 (1).

In its order denying McCafferty’s motion in limine, the trial court noted the conflicting evidence as to whether McCafferty requested a breath or blood test while at the jail but construed the evidence in McCafferty’s favor by presuming that McCafferty attempted to rescind “his refusal to take the requested breath test.” The court found that this attempted rescission, made after Frost had returned to his other duties, was “too late” and that McCafferty had not been in Frost’s custody and under his observation for the entire time since his arrest. Based on these findings, the trial court concluded that McCafferty had not complied with Standish, supra, and denied his motion.

Even assuming, as argued by McCafferty, that he rescinded his refusal only an hour and 15 minutes after the initial stop, and only 30 to 45 minutes after Frost left the jail, we cannot say the trial court abused its discretion in denying McCafferty’s motion to exclude evidence of his refusal. This is not a case, such as that noted for comparison in Standish, supra, in which a defendant refused a test at the scene and then changed his or her mind and requested the test “a few minutes later.” 235 Kan. at 903. Instead, like the defendant in Standish, McCafferty waited to rescind his refusal until after the arresting officer took him to jail and after the officer had left the jail. The evidence presented to the trial court showed that the rescission was not made within “a very short and reasonable time” and that at the time he attempted to rescind his refusal, McCafferty was no longer in Frost’s custody. The trial court therefore did not err in denying the motion to exclude evidence of the refusal.

We note McCafferty’s argument that the trial court too narrowly interpreted Seay by concluding that his rescission could not be effec[16]*16tive since it was made after Officer Frost left the jail. But Standish, on which Seay relies, shows that just such an interpretation is intended by the guidelines set out in that case for determining whether a rescission was timely. Standish clearly states that an “arresting officer need not sit and wait for the person to change his or her mind, and thus neglect other duties.” 235 Kan. at 903.

2.

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605 S.E.2d 846 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
545 S.E.2d 91, 248 Ga. App. 13, 2001 Fulton County D. Rep. 526, 2001 Ga. App. LEXIS 87, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccafferty-v-state-gactapp-2001.