Defendant, as is his right, brings direct appeal from the order of the trial court overruling his plea of double jeopardy.
Patterson v. State,
According to his brief, on October 30, 1987, he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and being a habitual violator. On November 23 he appeared before the Recorder’s Court of Poulan and pled guilty to the misdemeanor offense of driving under the influence. At that time he informed the presiding judge in the presence of the arresting officer that he was charged with being a habitual violator. He was sentenced to a fine of $800 which he paid in December.
Subsequently, the district attorney presented defendant’s charge of habitual violator to the grand jury, which returned a true bill in January. At the time of the arraignment, the district attorney furnished defendant with an incident report which charged defendant with two offenses allegedly committed on the same day — driving under the influence and habitual violator.
Defendant contends that presenting the habitual violator charge and seeking trial on it is barred under the principles of double jeopardy as provided by OCGA §§ 16-1-7 (b) and 16-1-8 (b).
When there are misdemeanor and felony charges arising out of the same conduct and within the jurisdiction of the same court, OCGA § 16-1-7 (b) requires that they be tried together. If not, the State may suffer the consequences of OCGA § 16-1-8 (b). In
McCrary v. State,
A prerequisite of the type of statutory double jeopardy claim urged by appellant is knowledge by the proper prosecuting officer, the one at the first proceeding. This means actual, not constructive, knowledge by the prosecuting officer actually handling that proceeding.
Baker v. State,
Contrary to defendant’s assertions, the district attorney’s knowledge at the time of presentment would be of no consequence, given the facts as stated in the brief. The vital question pertains to the prosecuting officer’s knowledge of all the charges on November 23 when defendant’s guilty plea was accepted in the recorder’s court. OCGA § 16-1-7 (b) refers to “crimes arising from the same conduct . . . known to the proper prosecuting officer at the time of commencing the prosecution and . . . within the jurisdiction of a single court.” Compare
McCannon v. State,
We cannot decide the issue in this case, however, because no record of the hearing below nor of the proceedings in the recorder’s court has been forwarded to this court. There is thus nothing to indicate who assumed the role of prosecuting officer before the recorder’s court and what was known or what was said, because a brief is not a record. What is stated therein provides no factual predicate.
Strickland v. State,
In the absence of a contrary showing, we must assume as a matter of law that the evidence supported the findings of the trial court.
Moore v. State,
Judgment affirmed.
