The State v. Baddeley.

823 S.E.2d 373
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 6, 2019
DocketA18A1623
StatusPublished

This text of 823 S.E.2d 373 (The State v. Baddeley.) 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
The State v. Baddeley., 823 S.E.2d 373 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinions

Rickman, Judge.

The State appeals from the trial court's decision to suppress the results of a chemical blood test in this action arising out of an automobile collision. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

"In reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress, this Court must construe the record in the light most favorable to the factual findings and judgment of the trial court and accept the trial court's findings of disputed fact unless they are clearly erroneous." (Citations omitted.) State v. Turner , 304 Ga. 356, 818 S.E.2d 589 (2018). "An appellate court also generally must limit its consideration of the disputed facts to those expressly found by the trial court." Caffee v. State , 303 Ga. 557, 557, 814 S.E.2d 386 (2018). However, "the trial court's application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo review." (Citations and punctuation omitted.) State v. Clay , 339 Ga. App. 473, 793 S.E.2d 636 (2016).

So viewed, the evidence at the suppression hearing shows that a trooper with the Georgia State Patrol investigated the scene of a collision in Madison County involving a Ford Focus and a Jeep. Thereafter, the trooper located Baddeley, the 63-year-old driver of the Jeep, at St. Mary's Hospital in a room in the emergency department. The trooper observed that Baddeley had bloodshot, watery eyes and slow and slurred speech. The trooper also detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Baddeley's breath as he talked. The trooper then administered the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and obtained six clues suggesting impairment. The trooper placed Baddeley under arrest without taking him into custody, read him the Georgia Implied Consent Notice, and asked Baddeley to agree to a blood test. Baddeley refused; the trooper testified that Baddeley said he did not want to take the test, that he "[s]hook his head."

Thereafter, the trooper prepared a driver's license suspension form, presented it to Baddeley, and explained that by refusing to submit to the blood test, his license would be suspended but that the form functioned as a temporary permit. In so doing, the trooper told Baddeley that if he did not submit, the trooper wound"yank" Baddeley's license "as of then." Baddeley then changed his mind and consented to the test, and the test ensued. On direct examination by his own attorney, Baddeley testified that he changed his mind in part because the trooper said that he was going to "yank" Baddeley's license. He also testified that he changed his mind because he felt "very intimidated" by the trooper's "body language and the way he was looking at me." Baddeley did not recall telling the trooper that he felt intimidated. Baddeley did not further testify about the trooper's body language or demeanor.

Based on these facts, the trial court held that the totality of the circumstances showed that "the defendant was intimidated and coerced into changing his mind and that his agreement to take the [State-administered blood] test was not voluntary or actual consent." In so doing, the court found that Baddeley testified that "the Trooper's demeanor changed when [Baddeley] refused [to take the test]." On appeal, the State contends the trial court erred as a matter of law.

"The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and *376Article I, Section I, Paragraph XIII of the Georgia Constitution protect an individual's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, including the compelled withdrawal of blood." Clay , 339 Ga. App. at 475, 793 S.E.2d 636. "Thus, the warrantless extraction of blood is presumed to be invalid, subject only to a few specifically established exceptions," including voluntary consent, for which the State has the burden of establishing actual consent. Id. ; see also Williams v. State , 296 Ga. 817, 821-822, 771 S.E.2d 373 (2015). Thus, "mere compliance with statutory implied consent requirements does not, per se, equate to actual, and therefore voluntary, consent on the part of the suspect so as to be an exception to the constitutional mandate of a warrant." Id. at 822, 771 S.E.2d 373. Rather, "the State has the burden of proving that the accused acted freely and voluntarily under the totality of the circumstances." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. at 821, 771 S.E.2d 373. The test is objective: "the court should consider whether a reasonable person would feel free to decline the officers' request to search or otherwise terminate the encounter. Mere acquiescence to the authority asserted by a police officer cannot substitute for free consent." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) State v. Young , 339 Ga. App. 306, 311, 793 S.E.2d 186 (2016) ; see also Florida v. Jimeno , 500 U.S. 248, 251, 111 S.Ct. 1801

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Florida v. Jimeno
500 U.S. 248 (Supreme Court, 1991)
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714 S.E.2d 671 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2011)
Goddard v. State
712 S.E.2d 528 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2011)
Williams v. State
771 S.E.2d 373 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2015)
The State v. Clay
793 S.E.2d 636 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2016)
The State v. Young
793 S.E.2d 186 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2016)
CSEHY v. the STATE.
816 S.E.2d 833 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2018)
Emma Katherine Bergstorm v. State
819 S.E.2d 84 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2018)
Caffee v. State
814 S.E.2d 386 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)
State v. Turner
818 S.E.2d 589 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)
Humphries v. State
759 S.E.2d 611 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2014)
Caffee v. State
303 Ga. 557 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2018)

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Bluebook (online)
823 S.E.2d 373, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-state-v-baddeley-gactapp-2019.