Question: I was coming home from a party in Dunwoody. I was driving on Georgia 400 when I got stopped by a Sandy Springs cop. I told him that I had a few drinks at the party. He asked me to do some tests. I took a breath test and I scored a .133. He arrested me for DUI. I have to go to court in Dunwoody. But since I got stopped by a Sandy Springs police officer maybe that's not legal. I think I got stopped for the DUI in Dunwoody.
I don't ever drive drunk and I felt fine but I was actually the designated driver for my boss so I had to drive. I live in Johns Creek but I never made it that far on that night.
Since the cop was from Sandy Springs and I got pulled over in Dunwoody, can I get the DUI case dropped?
Answer: It is not uncommon for police officers in neighboring jurisdictions to be "cross- sworn." That is cops are able to effectuate arrests because they have the legal capacity to do so given to them by contiguous jurisdictions (in this case the cities of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody). So, no, the DUI case is unlikely to be dismissed.
We have heard this question raised in various contexts, including whether a driver can simply "out-run" a police officer or deputy sheriff by driving into another city or county. For several reasons, that should not occur. One reason is that officers are cross-sworn. If that were not the case, it would encourage alleged offenders to simply not pull-over and cross a city or county border in hopes of eluding law enforcement.
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