The State v. Cartwright

BARNES, Presiding Judge.

The State appeals from the order of the trial court granting Allison Cartwright’s motion to suppress following her arrest for DUI. It contends that the trial court erred in finding that OCGA § 40-8-25 (b) did not apply to a nonfunctioning center brake light. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

[T]hree fundamental principles . . . must be followed when conducting an appellate review of a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress. First, when a motion to suppress is heard by the trial judge, that judge sits as the trier of facts. The trial judge hears the…