GA Supreme Court grants the State “veto power” to a defendant’s right for a bench trial.

December 7th, 2006 Rob Leonard Posted in Case Law Update No Comments »

Zigan v. State, S06A1415 decided Nov. 30, 2006.  The court held that the State has the right to object to a defendant’s request for a bench trial.  They reason that he accused has the right to a jury trial, not a bench trial.  He is merely waiving his right to a jury trial and that this cannot be done without the State’s consent.

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Palmaka II

August 6th, 2006 Rob Leonard Posted in Case Law Update, Intox 5000 No Comments »

Palmaka II (Palmaka v. State - A06A1060) was published on July 27, 2006 by the Court of Appeals.  It is a bad case for the defense on the issues presented on appeal.  We will go into the substance of that later.  However, the last paragraph may contain a little gold nugget that defense lawyers need to help with attacks on the Intox 5000 in jury trials.  It may make a good jury charge.

“We further note that OCGA 40-6-392(a)(1)(A) provides only for the admissibility of the test results.  A defendant remains freee to challenge the weight and credibility of that evidence before the jury.”

Hmmm…that might be helpful.  Thanks to Jeremy Citron, the eternal optimist, for pointing that out.

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