What is the Officer supposed to do to accomodate the request for an independent test?
One of the interesting things I have seen as an Atlanta DUI attorney is when the Defendant actually requests an independent blood test. It does not happen to often but when it does it definitely throws a procedural issue into the case that could change the case.The Court of Appeals held that before the duty to transport the defendant to the testing location arises, the defendant must first show that he has made arrangement with a qualified person of his own choosing, that the test to be made if he came to the hospital, that he so informed the personnel at the jail where he was under arrest, and that those holding him, for some reason, refused to take the defendant to the hospital for a test. In Thornhill v. State, the Court of Appeals held that although officers are required to accommodate reasonable requests for an independent test, it is not their duty to ensure that the independent test is performed. In this same vein, Muller v. State 257 Ga. App. 830 (2002) held that an office
