May 9, 2008
News 12 at 6 o'clock

AUGUSTA, Ga.---The one document that may explain why an officer missed State Representative Ben Harbin's first D-U-I hearing Is missing from the case file.

As news 12 was first to report, the Atlanta police officer who arrested State Representative Harbin, missed the initial hearing because he says he got a document leading him to believe the hearing would be delayed.

Since the officer missed the hearing- the state lawmaker got to keep his drivers license, even after failing a field sobriety test and refusing to give a blood sample.

The document is a motion for continuance, sent to the police officer by Harbin's attorney, Robert Highsmith of Atlanta. But that motion is either missing from the legal file, or never made there in the first place.

Georgia's Department of Drivers Services now has the Harbin file and on Friday, Jennifer Ammons, an attorney in that office told News 12
"... there is not a copy of the motion in the file that was sent to the DDS by OSAH once the case was closed." Ammons said, "I'm afraid that I have no other information on this topic..."

News 12 also spoke with Robert Highsmith, Harbin's attorney, who provided receipts proving his motion was e-mailed to the judges office where it was received and read.

Highsmith maintains the motion to continue the hearing was not designed to mislead the arresting officer.