Hundreds of Wrong DUI Search Warrants?

Obvious look of intoxication, bloodshot droopy eyes, and slurred speech.

That’s the condition a Richmond County deputy says Daniel Beasley was in while driving along River Shoals Parkway at 1:15 in the morning.

An affidavit shows that driver refused a field sobriety test.

With that, the deputy went down to the courthouse to get a warrant to

draw Beasley’s blood to test his blood alcohol level.

The problem? Court records show a judge never signed off on that, an employee at the city clerk’s office did.

“In Georgia, we elect judicial officers to review these types of things. That’s what our judges are elected for. Judges can’t simply outsource the function of warrants to a clerk,” said Augusta attorney John R.B. Long, “What would be next? Trying the case?”

In Augusta-Richmond County, state court solicitor Omeeka Loggins says employees with the clerk’s office have possibly signed off on hundreds of DUI blood draws.

“I would not be surprised if there were anywhere from 100 to 200 cases,” said Loggins.

Attorney Long filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of his client and any others who had blood drawn involuntarily based on a search warrant signed by a deputy clerk.

“Here it is more of a rubber stamping process and the clerk is not a judicial officer.”

Solicitor Loggins says as a prosecutor she’s concerned, and her office will not consider the blood evidence in any case where a deputy clerk signed off on the warrant.

“Even somewhere down the road if one of the judges said the warrant was valid, I think we need to be cognizant that there is a concern.”

Georgia code says a judicial officer like a clerk may issue a search warrant, so are clerks breaking the law or not?

It’s not a yes or no answer.

Sheriff Richard Roundtree and Clerk of Court Vickie W. Hester are named as defendants in a complaint that will be heard on Friday.

First, a judge or clerk has told the deputy clerk that they can sign the warrants. Second, depending on how you interpret the law, it could be read as legal for them to sign these search warrants.

The current complaint raises two issues, whether the Clerk of Court is considered a “judicial officer” or not and is authorized to issue a search warrant in order to conduct blood tests for DUI cases, and whether warrants are being obtained in an unconstitutional manner through the civil court of Richmond County. The complaint alleges that a template was used that doesn’t require the officer to actually swear in a person listed in an affidavit and the procedure is done electronically.

The complaint also says that the arresting officer in this particular case, Deputy Darling, electronically prepared the affidavit and electronically transmitted the affidavit to the clerk of court.

We’ve attached the full complaint to this article, you can read it below: