“YOU CANNOT USE THAT EVIDENCE AGAINST ME”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AUTHORITIES SAY HALL COUNTY SHERIFF GERALD COUCH WAS CHARGED WITH DUI FOLLOWING A TRAFFIC STOP… AND THE GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS HAS NOW AGREED TO REVIEW EVIDENCE RULINGS IN HIS PENDING CASE.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch has received permission to challenge a judge’s evidentiary rulings in his pending driving under the influence case.
The Georgia Court of Appeals granted the sheriff the green light to take his legal challenge forward.
Couch was originally charged following a traffic stop.
The stop took place on Feb. 27.
Following that stop, Couch was charged with DUI-alcohol/less safe.
He was charged with possession of an open container.
He was also charged with failure to maintain lane.
Couch’s attorney subsequently filed motions seeking to suppress evidence gathered by law enforcement.
The defense targeted evidence obtained during the initial stop and the subsequent DUI investigation.
A Hall County judge heard the matter and agreed with the defense on one major issue.
The judge ruled that evidence obtained during a warrantless search of Couch’s county-issued Chevrolet Tahoe had to be suppressed.
According to the ruling, prosecutors failed to establish a valid exception to the warrant requirement.
But the judge allowed other key evidence in the state’s case to remain.
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The judge permitted evidence related to officers entering Couch’s property.
Evidence concerning his detention remained admissible.
The ruling allowed evidence surrounding Couch’s arrest to stay in the case.
The judge also permitted evidence related to field-sobriety testing.
The implied-consent warning was allowed to stand.
And the judge ruled that evidence from a state-administered blood test could remain.
Then Couch’s attorney asked the state appeals court to review those mixed rulings prior to trial.
The defense argued the decisions could significantly affect how much of the prosecution’s case is admissible.
On Aug. 24, the Georgia Court of Appeals granted the request for an interlocutory appeal.
That grant does not mean Couch won the evidence dispute.
It simply means the appellate court agreed to review the trial judge’s rulings before the criminal case moves forward.
The DUI charges remain pending.
No oral-argument date has been announced.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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