Taylor v. State

The Uniform Traffic Citation charging the defendant with violation of "DUI" put him on notice that he was charged under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 a 1-5.

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Fred Gilbert Taylor Jr. was tried by jury and convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, having an open container, and driving on a suspended license. He appeals only the conviction of driving under the influence. The evidence shows that after midnight on May 12, 2002, Officer Thigpen of the Sardis Police Department received a call that an accident had occurred. At the scene, Thigpen saw a white car in a ditch with the front end in the air. Taylor was sitting in the back seat among several opened and unopened cans of beer. The hood of the car was still warm, the keys were in the ignition, and the radio was on. Taylor said that he had not been driving, rather someone named “Danny” had been driving but had fled. Yet there were no tracks in the eight-to-twelve-inch-high grass in the direction that Taylor indicated the driver had gone. And the officer saw a wet spot on Taylor’s jeans that was consistent with the location of a wet spot on the front seat. Taylor’s breath smelled of alcohol and he had difficulty standing up straight. His blood-alcohol level after the accident was 0.223 grams. The State also introduced evidence of a similar transaction in which Taylor was earlier convicted of driving under the influence in North Carolina. The State did not introduce any evidence that Taylor was under the influence of drugs or toxic vapors.

With regard to driving under the influence, the court charged that Taylor could be convicted under any of four scenarios: driving under the influence of alcohol-less safe; driving under the influence of drugs-less safe; driving under the influence of any two or more of either drugs, alcohol, and toxic vapors-less safe; and having a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more within three hours of driving. The jury returned a verdict finding Taylor guilty of “driving under the influence.”

Taylor v. State

The Uniform Traffic Citation charging the defendant with violation of "DUI" put him on notice that he was charged under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391 a 1-5.

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