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Are drug field test kits admissable in Georgia Superior Court?
- Thread Starter Giddyup
- Start date
adjusterjack
Super Moderator
Your question seems to imply that the test WAS admitted so the question is moot.
Were you convicted?
Did you have a lawyer?
army judge
Super Moderator
I suggest you use your RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT.
I also suggest you cease posting missive, asking questions, and "snitching" on yourself via the internet.
These days, prosecutors scour the interwebz seeking submissions that further incriminate criminal defendants,
I also suggest you only discuss any criminal matter ONLY with the defense attorney you've hired, or the one the court appointed to represent you.
Stop aiding and abetting your potential, criminal conviction.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
The latest court decision in Georgia that I found that dealt with that question is from 2006, and in that case the GA Court of Appeals stated:
"Positive field test results are alone sufficient to sustain a conviction for selling or possessing cocaine. West v. State; Riddle v. State. Positive test results from the State crime lab are not required."
Collins v. State, 278 Ga. App. 103, 104, 628 S.E.2d 148, 149 (2006).
I found no GA cases that have overturned or modified that decision, but that doesn't mean that's necessarily still the state of the law in GA. A federal court decision, a change in the GA statutes, or some case that I did not find that is later than this one might have changed the law on this. It might also be possible to get the above decision overturned by the state Court of Appeals or Supreme Court on the basis that research since 2006 have shown that field drug tests are not all that reliable.
But given that this case is out there, I wouldn't count on the court tossing the field test simply by motion. If you are facing that problem you really need to discuss the evidence against you with your lawyer to get an opinion as to how likely it is that the court will permit that evidence to be used against you.
Thank you for asking those questions. I do have a public defender. I haven't gone to trial yet. I couldn't find a clear answer to this question anywhere. I have 2 pieces of information that contradict one another. Both sources are reliable and believable. The answer to the question would serve 2 purposes. One to know the law and the other to help me understand this discrepancy.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
You are represented. Ask your attorney. Your attorney is in the best position to advise you based on his/her understanding of statutory and case law based on the specific facts in your case.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
AdjusterJack's answer was premised on you already having gone to trial and been convicted, which you say hasn't occurred. His answer that the issue would be moot in that situation is wrong however. If the trial court admitted evidence that it should not have that is an issue that may be raised on appeal. I suspect AdjusterJack did not have appeals in mind when he made that statement.
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