The Georgia

Court of Appeals has denied a petition to overturn a conviction in Peachtree

City Municipal Court for underage possession of alcohol.

Attorneys for

Allison Beamon argued that she was improperly cited since she was written

a ticket by the police officer instead of being issued an accusation.

But the Appeals Court ruled that Beamon was properly cited with the "traffic

ticket" because she was charged with violating a city ordinance and

not a state law.

Months ago,

in a similar case, the appeals court ruled in favor of a defendant who

claimed he was improperly cited by Peachtree City. In that case, Eric

Shaver was charged with violating a state law, meaning that he should

have been charged with an accusation signed by the city solicitor, the

court ruled.

The city is

appealing that case to the Georgia Supreme Court with the support of many

other Georgia jurisdictions who have also usee the state's Uniform Traffic

Citation to prosecute misdemeanor cases in lieu of arresting the suspect.

The Georgia

Supreme Court will hear argument on the case in October.

In May, a new

Georgia law was signed that allows police to use state traffic citations

to prosecute alleged violations of state law. But that law doesn't retroactively

cover previous cases, meaning prior municipal court convictions could

be called into question.

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