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Statev.Dias

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S24A1373
DecidedMarch 13, 2025
Reporter321 Ga. 261; 914 S.E.2d 291; 2025 Ga. LEXIS 61; 2025 LX 91715; 2025 WL 795316
JudgesEllington, J., authored the opinion; all Justices concurred. Peterson, P.J., concurred, joined by Bethel, McMillian, and Pinson, JJ.
Tags
CriminalDUIBlood Test RefusalImplied ConsentFourth AmendmentSelf-IncriminationMotion to SuppressConstitutional Avoidance
Case Summary

Christine Dias moved to suppress evidence that she refused a warrantless blood test after a DUI arrest and persuaded the trial court that the governing statute, OCGA § 40-6-392 (d), was unconstitutional as applied to her. The Supreme Court of Georgia vacated that ruling and remanded. It held that the trial court relied on self-incrimination precedents dealing with breath tests, even though those cases did not decide the distinct question whether a defendant’s refusal of a blood test is inadmissible on search-and-seizure or due-process grounds. Because the trial court did not directly rule on that novel issue, and because nonconstitutional grounds for exclusion may still exist, the order could not stand. The Court left the underlying constitutional question open for proper consideration on remand.

Opinion

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