Brogdon v. State. Cert was granted on August 5, 2009. Here is the case in a nutshell:
On appeal, defendant attacked the validity of a search warrant which sought all his medical records from treatment at a medical center shortly after the accident which led to the charges. The appellate court found that the affidavit listed the crimes that were believed to have been committed, which included driving DUI, following too close, and open container, and it averred that defendant caused an accident and had opened and empty beer cans inside his vehicle. Therefore, the affidavit included facts sufficient to support a finding that evidence of a crime would have been contained in the medical records. Additionally, it supported the magistrate's finding of probable cause. Therefore, defendant's argument that the warrant was invalid because it omitted relevant information and contained false and misleading information was rejected. Misstatements in the affidavit were not so material that they would have affected the finding of probable cause. The search warrant was narrowly drafted to seek only the medical records from the hospital where defendant was treated on the day of the accident. Therefore, defendant's argument that the warrant authorized a general search was incorrect.
Cert was granted to address the following question: To what extent, if any, does the private papers exemption of OCGA ยง 17-5-21 apply to a search warrant for medical records under King v. State, 276 Ga. 126, 577 S.E.2d 764 (2003).
Justices Nahmias, Carley, and Thompson dissented from the granting of cert in this case.
The case has been briefed with oral argument set for February 8, 2010.
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