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State v. Depol

Although the defendant was under the influence of alcohol, a video recording of his interaction with police officers clearly demonstrated that he was capable of exercising sufficient free will to consent to a breath test, and the trial court erred in suppressing the results of the breath test on the basis that the defendant's voluntary intoxication left him without the ability to voluntarily consent.

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The State of Georgia appeals from the trial court’s order granting Scott Depol’s motion to suppress the results of a breath test based upon the Supreme Court of Georgia’s recent decision in Williams v. State, 296 Ga. 817 771 SE2d 373 2015. Specifically, the trial court concluded that the Defendant’s apparent voluntary intoxication left him without the ability to voluntarily consent to a search of his breath with the use of a machine, despite the lack of threats, benefits or promises from any of the three officers present on the scene. For the reasons explained below, we reverse.

On appeal from a ruling on a motion to suppress, we defer to the trial court’s factual findings and credibility determinations, but review de novo the court’s application of the law to the undisputed facts. And significantly, to the extent that the controlling facts are undisputed because they are plainly discernable from the patrol car mounted video recording, as they are in this case, we review those facts de novo.

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