Massey v. State

Because the defendant had refused to submit to chemical testing when he was arrested for DUI, the trial court properly denied his pre-trial discovery request pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-392 subsection a 4 seeking information about the blood test the State conducted on blood that was forcibly taken pursuant to a search warrant.

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Jonathan Aaron Massey was charged by accusation with the offense of driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more in violation of OCGA § 40-6-391 a 5. Massey brings this interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s denial of his pre-trial request pursuant to OCGA § 40-6-392 a 4 for discovery concerning the blood test conducted by the State to determine his blood alcohol concentration. For the following reasons, we affirm.

1. At the time of his arrest for driving under the influence, Massey was given the implied consent notice and refused a State-administered chemical test of his breath requested by the arresting officer. After Massey refused the requested test, the officer immediately obtained a search warrant pursuant to which blood was forcibly taken from Massey. The officer sent Massey’s blood to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, where a forensic toxicologist employed by the Forensic Sciences Division the State Crime Lab chemically tested the blood using a gas chromatography instrument. Based on the test results, the toxicologist generated a report finding that the blood had an alcohol concentration of 0.133 grams plus or minus 0.005 grams per 100 milliliters. Massey filed a pre-trial discovery request seeking information about the blood test pursuant to the discovery provisions set forth in OCGA § 40-6-392 a 4. The trial court denied the discovery request on the basis that OCGA § 40-6-392 a 4 expressly limits discovery concerning chemical testing of a person’s blood, urine, breath, or other bodily substance to “the person who shall submit to a chemical test or tests at the request of a law enforcement officer.” The court concluded that the discovery provisions of subsection a 4 did not apply because Massey refused to submit to a breath test requested by the officer at the time of his arrest, and the alcohol concentration test at issue was conducted on blood forcibly taken from Massey pursuant to a search warrant obtained by the officer.

Massey v. State

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