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Worthy v. State12/10/2001
meet the requirements of OCGA § 24-3-17. But Worthy never questioned or objected to Holloway's ability to interpret the driving history or provide information about the procedures used to create and update it. In fact, Worthy questioned Holloway regarding that record, apparently conceding her ability to interpret the document. "If counsel desires to preserve an objection upon a specific point, the objection must be on that specific ground. Otherwise, this court will not consider it."
3. Worthy argues that the State's use of his driving record, as well as Holloway's testimony about it, deprived him of his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Worthy has not pointed to any evidence that he raised an objection on this ground, and we have found none. As noted above, we "will not consider issues and grounds for objection, even of constitutional magnitude, which were not raised and determined in the trial court."
4. Finally, Worthy argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for driving with a suspended license. To establish this offense, "the State must show that the accused was driving, that his license was suspended, and that the accused had received actual or legal notice of the suspension."
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence showed that Worthy was driving on June 14, 2000, when a police officer stopped his car. The officer checked the status of Worthy's driver's license, learned that it had been suspended, and cited Worthy for driving with a suspended license.
Worthy's driving record revealed that, on April 5, 2000, the State convicted him of driving under the influence and suspended his license. The driving record further showed that Worthy received notice of the suspension on April 5, 2000. Interpreting the driving record, Holloway confirmed that Worthy received notice on April 5, 2000, and testified that his license was not reinstated prior to the June 14, 2000 citation for driving with a suspended license. This evidence was sufficient to support Worthy's conviction.
We recognize that Worthy's driving record references a license reinstatement on April 7, 2000, two days after the DUI suspension. The record shows that Worthy's license had been previously suspended for a failure to appear in court. On April 7, 2000, he managed to have his "failure to appear" suspension lifted. Nevertheless, Worthy's April 5, 2000 DUI conviction resulted in a 12-month license suspension under OCGA § 40-5-63 (a) (1). Although that statute permitted him to apply for reinstatement after 120 days, Worthy could not seek reinstatement until the 120-day period expired.
Just two days after his DUI conviction, the State lifted Worthy's suspension for failure to appear. That reinstatement did not nullify the DUI suspension, which, by statute, would last at least 120 days. "Administrative lapses notwithstanding, the fact that [Worthy] had driver's license [reinstated] did not give him permission to drive in contravention of [OCGA § 40-5-63 (a) (1)]." And, " gnorance of the laws to this effect excuses no one." Accordingly, the trial court was authorized to conclude that Worthy's driving privileges had not been reinstated and that he drove on June 14, 2000 with a suspended license.
Judgment affirmed.
Johnson, P. J., and Ellington, J., concur.
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