Attorney William Doyle Healan III's Legal Cases

DUI and DWI

Cooper V. State

Oct 06, 2003

OUTCOME: Victory in the Georgia Supreme Court

In 2003, William D. Healan, III, along with co-counsel, Sherry Boston, argued Cooper v. State in front of the Georgia Supreme Court. On October 6, 2003, the Court issued a landmark decision which decla ... red a portion of Georgia's DUI law unconstitutional. Because of the Cooper decision, the police in Georgia can no longer, as a matter of standard procedure, request a blood, breath, or urine test from a motorist involved in a accident with a fatality or serious injury. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a front page headline after the Cooper decision declaring "Part of Georgia's DUI Law Erased".

DUI and DWI

King V. State

Oct 02, 2000

OUTCOME: Victory in the Georgia Supreme Court

In 2000, the Georgia Supreme Court decided one of William D. Healan, III's cases. In King v. State, the Supreme Court held a Georgia statute unconstitutional as it applied to Mr. Healan's client. The C ... ourt held that a District Attorney's office had violated Mr. Healan's client's right to privacy when it subpoenaed her medical records to charge her with DUI based on her hospital blood test. The King case changed the way that hospitals throughout Georgia responded to medical records requests and subpoenas.

Criminal defense

State V. Frazier

Oct 30, 1997

OUTCOME: Victory in the Georgia Court of Appeals

In 1997, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Mr. Healan's case, State v. Frazier. Frazier had taken a urine test after being arrested for DUI. When the urine test came back positive for drugs, Frazie ... r was charged with drug possession. The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed with Mr. Healan that it was illegal to charge someone with drug possession based solely on a urine test taken for DUI purposes. Frazier was one of the first cases in Georgia that prevented prosecutors from charging motorists with drug possession when their DUI blood or urine test came back positive for an illegal drug.

DUI and DWI

Brogdon V. State

N/A

OUTCOME: Pending in the Georgia Supreme Court

On February 8, 2010 Mr. Healan, along with co-counsel, Dave Clark, argued another case in the Georgia Supreme Court that will define Georgia citizens' rights to privacy in their medical treatment. The ... Defendant was convicted of DUI after being involved in an automobile accident. Although the police did not ask him to submit to a blood, breath or urine test, the Gwinnett County Solicitor's Office executed a search warrant for his hospital records. The records countained evidence of a medical blood test that was above the legal alcohol limit. The solicitor's office used the medical test to obtain a conviction. Mr. Healan firmly believes in every persons' right to privacy in their medical treatment and believes that it is illegal to obtain someone's private medical records through a search warrant. When the Georgia Court of Appeals disagreed with this position, Mr. Healan petitioned the Georgia Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court agreed that this important issue warranted their review, and their decision is pending.

William Doyle Healan III's Legal Cases (4)

Cooper V. State

King V. State

State V. Frazier

Brogdon V. State