State v. McCabe

Judge Harold R. Banke.

The State appeals the trial court’s refusal to retroactively apply an amendment to the implied consent statute (OCGA § 40-5-67.1) which eliminated the requirement that the statutory language be read verbatim to a driver suspected of being impaired by drugs.

The underlying case arose on February 23, 1997, after Officer D. L. Nix observed John McCabe commit several traffic violations. Based on the officer’s observations of McCabe’s driving, McCabe’s unacceptable performance on several field sobriety tests, and McCabe’s admission that he had been drinking, Nix arrested…