The State v. Fowle., 819 S.E.2d 719

On Feb. 20, 2016 police stopped a vehicle and arrested Shantel Fowle on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant; initial search found no contraband.
An officer told Fowle that if marijuana was found after booking he could be charged with a felony; Fowle denied having drugs.
After the officer processed Fowle into Fulton County Jail, officers found a small amount of marijuana on his person.
The State charged Fowle with misdemeanor possession and, under OCGA § 42-5-15, with the felony offense of bringing drugs across a jail’s guard lines without the warden’s knowledge/consent.
Fowle moved to dismiss the § 42-5-15 charge, arguing (1) he did not voluntarily enter the jail (so lacked the required act/intent) and (2) prosecution violated his privilege against self-incrimination; the trial court granted dismissal.
The State appealed; the Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether OCGA § 42-5-15 requires voluntary entry into the facility	§ 42-5-15 applies when a person brings drugs into the guard lines regardless of voluntariness (State)	Fowle: he did not voluntarily enter, so lacked the act/intent required for the statute	Reversed trial court: statute does not require voluntary entry; a jury could find he intentionally had drugs when brought into the guard lines
Whether charging under § 42-5-15 violated the privilege against self-incrimination	State: advising Fowle of potential felony was not coercion; he was not compelled to incriminate himself	Fowle: officer’s warning forced an unconstitutional choice—confess or face felony prosecution	Rejected: informing Fowle of consequences was not coercion; he had the choice to relinquish contraband, so no Fifth Amendment/Georgia Const. violation
Whether applying § 42-5-15 impermissibly elevated misdemeanor possession to a felony (public policy/legislative intent)	State: crossing guard lines with drugs is a distinct felony offense under the statute	Fowle: applying the felony statute to someone who would otherwise be a misdemeanor is contrary to legislative intent/public policy	Rejected: Legislature plainly criminalized bringing drugs into correctional institutions as a felony; State alleged a separate offense

State v. Scott, 344 Ga. App. 744 (discussing appellate review of dismissals of indictments)
FDIC v. Loudermilk, 295 Ga. 579 (statutory interpretation and the importance of context)
Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (Fifth Amendment protects compelled communications)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (custodial interrogation warnings and privilege against self-incrimination)
Alvarado v. State, 200 P.3d 1037 (Ariz. App. 2008) (rejecting voluntariness defense to jail-contraband statute)
Taylor v. Commonwealth, 313 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2010) (knowledge of contraband suffices even if entry was involuntary)
Herron v. Commonwealth, 688 S.E.2d 901 (Va. App. 2010) (majority view that entry knowing contraband satisfies similar statutes)