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The Statev.Jeffrey Williams

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A19A1893
DecidedMarch 12, 2020
Reporter305 Ga. 442
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureFourth AmendmentSearch and SeizureTraffic StopMotion to SuppressReversal
Case Summary

Cedric Jones and Jeffrey Williams were charged with multiple drug-possession offenses and firearm possession after traffic stops. The trial court granted their motions to suppress evidence found after the stops, reasoning that the officers lacked a sufficient basis to initiate them. The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed. It held that an officer’s observation of windows appearing darker than permitted by Georgia’s window-tint statute supplied reasonable, articulable suspicion for an investigative traffic stop. The officer did not need to determine before stopping the vehicle whether the tint was factory-installed or an after-market modification or to resolve every statutory element at the roadside. Because the stops were lawful, the suppression orders could not stand, and the evidence was not excluded on that basis.

Opinion

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