MOBLEY v. STATE (2001)

Lloyd Mobley appeals from his conviction of driving with a suspended license, contending the trial court erred in allowing the prosecution to go forward.   Mobley asserts that the arresting officer failed to comply with the following requirement of OCGA § 40-5-121(b)(1):  “The charge of driving with a suspended or disqualified license shall not be made where the suspension is a result of a failure to respond under Code Section 40-5-56 or an insurance cancellation unless the arresting officer has verified a service date and such date is placed on the uniform citation.”   The record in this case shows that Mobley's license was suspended under OCGA § 40-5-56 for failing to appear at a hearing for a traffic offense and that the officer arrested him for driving with a suspended license.   Instead of issuing a citation to Mobley, however, the officer took him into custody and obtained an arrest warrant.   Mobley was never given a uniform citation listing the service date nor a copy of his arrest warrant.

In State v. Brooks, 194 Ga.App. 465, 390 S.E.2d 673 (1990), we interpreted a broader predecessor to the current version of OCGA § 40-5-121(b)(1) in a case in which the officer did not verify and place the service date on the uniform citation issued to the appellant.   We held that “under the clear mandate of ․ the statute ․, no charge of driving with a suspended license could be made against appellant.”  Id. at 466, 390 S.E.2d 673.   As in Brooks, supra, “we may not sanction noncompliance [with the statute] because we perceive it to be unnecessary or cumbersome.”  Id.

Judgment reversed.

BARNES, Judge.

SMITH, P.J., and PHIPPS, J., concur.