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Satterfield v. State11/20/2001
Following a jury trial, Stephen Miller Satterfield, a Gerogia resident with a state driver's license, appeals his conviction for driving with an unlawful blood/alcohol concentration (OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (5)) and driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent that he was less safe (OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (1)), contending that, because the arresting officer repeated the implied consent warning improperly, the results of his Intoxilyzer breath test should have been suppressed. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
On appeal from a denial of a motion to suppress, this Court must construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the ruling of the trial court. State v. Winnie. Furthermore, the trial court's application of law to facts which are undisputed is subject to de novo review. Id.
The record shows that Officer Wells pulled Satterfield over for speeding. Once stopped, Satterfield showed signs of intoxication, and Officer Wells ultimately arrested Satterfield for driving under the influence , read the implied consent warning to Satterfield, and asked him to submit to a state-administered breath test. It is undisputed that Officer Wells' first recitation of the implied consent warning was proper. After this first reading of the warning, Satterfield refused the request to submit to the breath test.
Subsequently, in response to Satterfield's questions about what was going to happen to him, Officer Wells repeated a portion of the implied consent warning to Satterfield; however, he altered the warning slightly. The implied consent warning applicable to Satterfield reads: "`If you refuse this testing, your Georgia driver's license or privilege to drive on the highways of this state will be suspended for a minimum period of one year. Your refusal to submit to the required testing may be offered into evidence against you at trial.'" OCGA § 40-5-67.1 (b) (2). Varying slightly from this language, Officer Wells told Satterfield that his license would "automatically" be revoked if he refused to submit to the State's breath test and that evidence of his refusal "would" be used against him at trial. At that time, Satterfield changed his mind and consented to the State's breath test.
1. On appeal, Satterfield first contends that Officer Wells' use of the word "automatically" improperly altered the substance of the implied consent warning, thereby swaying his decision to submit to the breath test. Because of this alleged coercive misinformation, Satterfield argues that the results of his Intoxilyzer breath test should have been suppressed. We disagree.
As an initial matter, OCGA § 40-5-67.1 (b) (3) provides that, if an implied consent warning
is used by a law enforcement officer to advise a person of his or her rights regarding the administration of chemical testing, such person shall be deemed to have been properly advised of his or her rights under this Code section and under Code Section 40-6-392 and the results of any chemical test, or the refusal to submit to a test, shall be admitted into evidence against such person. Such notice shall be read in its entirety but need not be read exactly so long as the substance of the notice remains unchanged. (Emphasis supplied.)
Here, Satterfield erroneously argues that Officer Wells modified the substance and meaning of the implied warning because the applicable statute does not allow for the automatic suspension of a resident driver's license. Satterfield contends that the statute's provisions for an administrative review of the suspension prevents automatic suspensions. This reading of the statute is incorrect.
OCGA § 40-5-67.1 (d) provides:
If a person unde
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