State v. Pittmon

Supreme Court of Georgia

State v. Pittmon

562 S.E.2d 185, 275 Ga. 139, 2002 Fulton County D. Rep. 1166, 2002 Ga. LEXIS 314

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

DecidedApril 15, 2002

DocketS02A0691

StatusPublished

Cited by1 cases

This text of 562 S.E.2d 185 (State v. Pittmon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

State v. Pittmon, 562 S.E.2d 185, 275 Ga. 139, 2002 Fulton County D. Rep. 1166, 2002 Ga. LEXIS 314 (Ga. 2002).

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Opinion

Benham, Justice.

Larry Kent Pittmon was charged with violating OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (2), driving under the influence of drugs to the extent it was less safe for him to drive. Citing this Court’s decision in Love v. State, 271 Ga. 398 (517 SE2d 53) (1999), Pittmon filed a general demurrer to the accusation, seeking to quash the charge on the ground that the statute violated the equal protection clauses of the United States and Georgia Constitutions. The trial court found the demurrer to be proper and granted it, effectively dismissing the State’s accusation. The State, exercising its statutory right of appeal under OCGA § 5-7-1 (a) (1), filed a timely notice of appeal from the trial court’s ruling.

This case is identical, procedurally and substantively, to the recently-decided case of State v. Kachwalla, 274 Ga. 886 (561 SE2d 403) (2002). In Kachwalla, we pointed out that our decision in Love was concerned only with the disparate treatment afforded those drivers charged with the per se violation found in OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (6), and we upheld the constitutionality of OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (2) against the charge it violated equal protection. For the reasons set forth in Kachwalla, the judgment of the trial court in the case at bar is reversed.

Judgment reversed.

All the Justices concur.

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Benham, Justice.

Larry Kent Pittmon was charged with violating OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (2), driving under the influence of drugs to the extent it was less safe for him to drive. Citing this Court’s decision in Love v. State, 271 Ga. 398 (517 SE2d 53) (1999), Pittmon filed a general demurrer to the accusation, seeking to quash the charge on the ground that the statute violated the equal protection clauses of the United States and Georgia Constitutions. The trial court found the demurrer to be proper and granted it, effectively dismissing the State’s accusation. The State, exercising its statutory right of appeal under OCGA § 5-7-1 (a) (1), filed a timely notice of appeal from the trial court’s ruling.

This case is identical, procedurally and substantively, to the recently-decided case of State v. Kachwalla, 274 Ga. 886 (561 SE2d 403) (2002). In Kachwalla, we pointed out that our decision in Love was concerned only with the disparate treatment afforded those drivers charged with the per se violation found in OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (6), and we upheld the constitutionality of OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (2) against the charge it violated equal protection. For the reasons set forth in Kachwalla, the judgment of the trial court in the case at bar is reversed.

Judgment reversed.

All the Justices concur.

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Bluebook (online)

562 S.E.2d 185, 275 Ga. 139, 2002 Fulton County D. Rep. 1166, 2002 Ga. LEXIS 314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pittmon-ga-2002.

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