State v. Licata

Full title: THE STATE v. LICATA.

Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Nov 18, 2019

353 Ga. App. 304 (Ga. Ct. App. 2019)

836 S.E.2d 239

Opinion

A17A1200

11-18-2019

The STATE v. LICATA.

Adam Eugene Keller, William Aubrey Finch, for Appellant. Woodrow Scott Smith, Matthew K. Winchester, Atlanta, GA, for Appellee.

McFadden, Chief Judge.

Adam Eugene Keller, William Aubrey Finch, for Appellant.

Woodrow Scott Smith, Matthew K. Winchester, Atlanta, GA, for Appellee.

McFadden, Chief Judge.

In Licata v. State , 305 Ga. 498, 826 S.E.2d 94 (2019), the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of this court in State v. Licata , 343 Ga. App. 874, 806 S.E.2d 292 (2017), and remanded the case for further proceedings. Accordingly, we vacate our earlier opinion and adopt the opinion of the Supreme Court as our own. We affirm the state court’s ruling suppressing evidence of Licata’s refusal to take a breath test, given our Supreme Court’s ruling in Elliott v. State , 305 Ga. 179, 824 S.E.2d 265 (2019), that a defendant’s refusal to submit to a breath test may not be admitted into evidence at a criminal trial. Id. at 221 (IV) (E), 824 S.E.2d 265. We reverse the superior court’s ruling suppressing Licata’s field sobriety tests.

Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part.

Gobeil and Coomer, JJ., concur.