Alison MacMaster v. State , 809 S.E.2d 478 ( 2018 )


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  •                               FIRST DIVISION
    BARNES, P. J.,
    MCMILLIAN and MERCIER, JJ.
    NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
    physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
    days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed.
    http://www.gaappeals.us/rules
    January 10, 2018
    In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
    A17A2083. MACMASTER v. THE STATE.
    BARNES, Presiding Judge.
    A Forsyth County jury found Alison MacMaster guilty of driving under the
    influence of alcohol with an excessive blood-alcohol concentration (“DUI per se”),
    driving under the influence of alcohol to the extent it was less safe for her to drive
    (“DUI less safe”), and failure to maintain lane.1 On appeal from the denial of her
    motion for new trial, MacMaster challenges the trial court’s denial of her motion in
    limine seeking to exclude evidence that she consented to a State-administered breath
    test and the results of that test. MacMaster also challenges the trial court’s denial of
    her motion in limine seeking to exclude evidence that she refused to take a
    preliminary breath test. Additionally, MacMaster argues that the trial court failed to
    exercise its discretion and decide whether to grant a new trial on the general grounds.
    1
    The trial court merged MacMaster’s conviction for DUI less safe into her
    conviction for DUI per se for purposes of sentencing.
    For the reasons discussed below, we discern no error by the trial court in its rulings
    and therefore affirm.
    1. MacMaster contends that the trial court erred in denying her motion in
    limine in several respects.2
    In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress or motion in limine,
    appellate courts construe the record in the light most favorable to the trial court’s
    2
    MacMaster further argues that the trial court erred in denying her separate
    motion challenging the constitutionality of Georgia’s implied consent statutory
    framework and associated regulations under the Due Process and Confrontation
    Clauses of the United States and Georgia Constitutions. But, appellate courts “will
    not rule on a constitutional question unless it clearly appears in the record that the
    trial court distinctly ruled on the point,” and the record in the present case contains
    no such ruling. (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Marks v. State, 
    280 Ga. 70
    , 74 (4)
    (623 SE2d 504) (2005). Thus, we do not rule on this matter or transfer it to our
    Supreme Court. See McKibben v. State, 
    340 Ga. App. 89
    , 92, n. 10 (796 SE2d 478)
    (2017); Kendrick v. State, 
    335 Ga. App. 766
    , 770, n. 3 (782 SE2d 842) (2016). In any
    event, our Supreme Court recently rejected similar claims that the implied consent
    statute is unconstitutionally misleading and coercive on its face in violation of due
    process. See Olevik v. State, __ Ga. __ (3) (a) (806 SE2d 505, 520-523) (2017). See
    also Schmitz v. State, No. S17A1199, 
    2017 WL 4870960
    , at *1-2 (Ga. Oct. 30, 2017);
    Fazio v. State, __ Ga. __ (2) (806 SE2d 544, 546) (2017). Additionally, our Supreme
    Court and this Court have previously rejected Confrontation Clause challenges
    relating to State-administered chemical tests. See Rackoff v. State, 
    281 Ga. 306
    , 309
    (2) (637 SE2d 706) (2006) (introduction of inspection certificate for breath testing
    machine did not violate Confrontation Clause); Smith v. State, 
    338 Ga. App. 635
    , 639
    (4) (791 SE2d 418) (2016) (State not required under Confrontation Clause to name
    inspector of breath testing machine as a witness); Phillips v. State, 
    324 Ga. App. 728
    ,
    733 (751 SE2d 526) (2013) (Confrontation Clause does not apply to machines like
    a breath testing machine).
    2
    factual findings and judgment, and “all relevant evidence of record, including
    evidence introduced at trial, as well as evidence introduced at the motion to suppress
    hearing, may be considered.” (Citation, punctuation, and emphasis omitted.) Pittman
    v. State, 
    286 Ga. App. 415
    , 416 (650 SE2d 302) (2007). See Price v. State, 
    303 Ga. App. 859
    , 861 (1) (694 SE2d 712) (2010).
    This means that the reviewing court generally must accept the trial
    court’s findings as to disputed facts unless they are clearly erroneous,
    although the reviewing court may also consider facts that definitively
    can be ascertained exclusively by reference to evidence that is
    uncontradicted and presents no questions of credibility, such as facts
    indisputably discernible from a videotape.
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) State v. Allen, 
    298 Ga. 1
    , 2 (1) (a) (779 SE2d
    248) (2015). Guided by these principles, we turn to the record in this case.
    In the early morning hours of August 12, 2016, a deputy with the Forsyth
    County Sheriff’s Office observed a black Chevrolet Tahoe repeatedly fail to maintain
    its lane and initiated a traffic stop. The deputy approached and made contact with the
    sole occupant and driver, MacMaster, and noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from
    her car that got stronger every time she spoke. MacMaster admitted to having
    consumed three beers in the last three hours at a local bar and said that another patron
    3
    had spilled beer on her. MacMaster also claimed that her car was out of alignment
    and that she was simply “not the best” driver. The deputy asked to see MacMaster’s
    driver’s license, and she handed it to him.
    When the deputy walked back to his patrol car to run a check on MacMaster’s
    license, a second deputy arrived on the scene. After the first deputy informed the
    second deputy of what he had observed on the roadway and during his conversation
    with MacMaster, the second deputy took over the investigation. The second deputy
    approached MacMaster, who remained seated in her car. As he spoke with
    MacMaster, the second deputy noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from her car
    and saw that she had bloodshot, watery eyes, a flushed face, and thick speech.
    MacMaster again admitted that she had been drinking.
    Based on his observations of MacMaster, the second deputy had MacMaster
    step out of her car, noticed that she strongly smelled of alcohol, and asked her if she
    would be willing to perform a series of voluntary field sobriety tests. MacMaster said
    that she would be willing to do so. After instructing MacMaster, the second deputy
    had her perform the horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) test, the walk-and-turn test,
    and the one-leg stand test. The second deputy observed six out of six clues of
    impairment for the HGN test, six out of eight clues for the walk-and-turn test, and
    4
    three out of four clues for the one-leg stand test. The second deputy also asked
    MacMaster to recite the alphabet from E to U without singing or rhyming the letters,
    but MacMaster sang and rhymed some of the letters. Additionally, the second deputy
    asked MacMaster if she would take a preliminary breath test on his handheld Alco-
    Sensor device (the “Alco-Sensor test”). MacMaster expressed that she was
    uncomfortable with the Alco-Sensor test, and the second deputy treated her response
    as a refusal.
    Based on MacMaster’s manner of driving, the strong odor of alcohol, her
    bloodshot, watery eyes, her thick speech, her admission to drinking, and her
    performance on the field sobriety tests, the second deputy placed her under arrest for
    DUI and failure to maintain lane. After arresting MacMaster, the second deputy read
    her Georgia’s implied consent notice for suspects over the age of 21 and asked
    whether she would agree to a State-administered test of her breath. When MacMaster
    asked if she had a choice, the second deputy explained that it was her choice to say
    yes or no. MacMaster then agreed to take the test.
    The second deputy transported MacMaster to the Forsyth County Detention
    Center for the State-administered breath test. According to the second deputy,
    MacMaster never changed her mind during the drive about taking the test. Once at
    5
    the detention center, MacMaster spoke with another deputy who was certified to
    administer the breath test on the Intoxilyzer 9000 (the “certified administrator”).
    MacMaster asked the certified administrator if she should take the breath test on the
    machine, and the administrator explained to her that she did not have to take it and
    that it was voluntary. MacMaster then submitted to a breath test on the Intoxilyzer,
    which returned blood-alcohol concentration readings of 0.166 and 0.159. According
    to the certified administrator, the Intoxilyzer was functioning properly and in good
    working order when MacMaster was tested, no components or parts were missing, the
    machine had passed its periodic inspections, and diagnostic tests performed on the
    machine that day revealed no problems.
    MacMaster was charged by accusation with DUI per se, DUI less safe, and
    failure to maintain lane. She filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude, on several
    constitutional grounds, the admission of the results of the State-administered breath
    test and any evidence of her consent to the State-administered breath test and her
    refusal to take the Alco-Sensor test. MacMaster argued that she had not voluntarily
    consented to the State-administered breath test and that her alleged consent had been
    procured before she had been properly advised of her rights under Miranda v.
    Arizona, 
    384 U. S. 436
     (86 SCt 1602, 16 LE2d 694) (1966), and in violation of her
    6
    constitutional right against self-incrimination. MacMaster further argued that her
    refusal to take the Alco-Sensor test was inadmissible because she had a constitutional
    right to refuse to consent to a warrantless search without having it introduced against
    her at trial.
    The trial court conducted a hearing on MacMaster’s motion in limine, where
    the two deputies on the scene of the traffic stop and the certified administrator
    testified to events as set out above, and the State introduced the dash-cam recordings
    from the two deputies’ patrol cars. After hearing all the testimony and reviewing the
    dash-cam recordings, the trial court denied MacMaster’s motion in limine.
    (a) MacMaster argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion in limine
    to exclude the admission of the results of her State-administered breath test because
    the warrantless test violated her right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures
    under the United States and Georgia Constitutions. According to MacMaster, the trial
    court erred in finding that she freely and voluntarily consented to the warrantless
    breath test. We disagree.
    The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and
    Article I, Section I, Paragraph XIII of the Georgia Constitution both
    protect an individual’s right to be free of unreasonable searches and
    seizures, and apply with equal force to the compelled withdrawal of
    7
    blood, breath, and other bodily substances. Because a breath test is a
    search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, absent a warrant,
    the State must show that it falls into one of the specifically established
    and well-delineated exceptions to the warrant requirement.
    Consent is a valid basis for a warrantless search where it is given
    freely and voluntarily, and the State does not argue that any other
    exception might apply. Therefore, the only question in regard to the
    validity of the search is whether the State met its burden of proving that
    [MacMaster] actually consented freely and voluntarily under the totality
    of the circumstances [to the State-administered breath test].
    Historically, we considered a defendant’s affirmative response to
    the reading of the implied consent notice as sufficient to allow a search
    of his or her bodily fluids without further inquiry into the validity of the
    defendant’s consent. However,[in Williams v. State, 
    296 Ga. 817
    , 821-
    822 (771 SE2d 373) (2015), our Supreme Court] rejected this per se rule
    automatically equating an affirmative response to the implied consent
    notice with actual consent to a search within the meaning of the Fourth
    Amendment. Instead, courts must now conduct a case-by-case analysis,
    considering the totality of the circumstances.
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Kendrick v. State, 
    335 Ga. App. 766
    , 768-769
    (782 SE2d 842) (2016). See State v. Young, 
    339 Ga. App. 306
    , 310-311 (793 SE2d
    186) (2016); Jacobs v. State, 
    338 Ga. App. 743
    , 747-748 (2) (791 SE2d 844) (2016).
    8
    As this Court has further explained,
    In conducting a totality of the circumstances analysis, we have
    considered a host of factors. A consent to search will normally be held
    voluntary if the totality of the circumstances fails to show that the
    officers used fear, intimidation, threat of physical punishment, or
    lengthy detention to obtain the consent. The defendant’s affirmative
    response to the implied consent notice may itself be sufficient evidence
    of actual and voluntary consent, absent reason to believe the response
    was involuntary. The defendant’s failure to express an objection to the
    test or change his or her mind also is evidence of actual consent. There
    is, however, no duty to inform suspects of their constitutional right
    against unreasonable searches. The use of handcuffs does not negate a
    defendant’s ability to give consent. And the mere fact that a defendant
    was visibly intoxicated does not render his consent involuntary.
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Jacobs, 338 Ga. App. at 748-749 (2).
    Here, the evidence, including the dash-cam recording from the second deputy’s
    patrol car, shows that MacMaster gave an affirmative response to the question posed
    by the deputy when he recited the implied consent notice, she never changed her mind
    before the testing occurred, and she did not appear to be impaired to the extent that
    she was unable to understand what was asked. Furthermore, the evidence “does not
    show that the [the deputy] used fear, intimidation, threat of physical punishment, or
    lengthy detention to obtain [MacMaster’s] consent to the breath test, and the [deputy]
    9
    and [MacMaster] conducted themselves calmly” throughout their encounter.
    (Punctuation omitted.) Young, 339 Ga. App. at 311, quoting Kendrick, 335 Ga. App.
    at 769. Nor is there any evidence that MacMaster’s age or level of education negated
    her consent. While MacMaster argues that the language of the implied consent notice
    is false and misleading to the point where an individual’s consent to a breath test
    cannot be considered voluntary, our Supreme Court has rejected that argument. See
    Schmitz, 
    2017 WL 4870960
    , at *1-2; Fazio, __ Ga. at __ (2) (806 SE2d at 546);
    Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (3) (a) (806 SE2d at 520-523). Accordingly, given the
    evidentiary record in this case, we conclude that the trial court committed no error in
    finding under the totality of the circumstances that MacMaster freely and voluntarily
    consented to the State-administered breath test. See McKibben v. State, 
    340 Ga. App. 89
    , 93-94 (796 SE2d 478) (2017); Young, 339 Ga. App. at 311-312; Jacobs, 338 Ga.
    App. at 749-750 (2); Kendrick, 335 Ga. App. at 772.
    Furthermore, in Birchfield v. North Dakota, __ U. S. __ (V) (C) (3) (136 SCt
    2160, 2184-2185, 195 LE2d 560) (2016), the Supreme Court of the United States held
    that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution permits warrantless
    breath tests as searches incident to arrests for drunk driving. Similarly, Article I,
    Section I, Paragraph XIII of the Georgia Constitution allows a warrantless breath test
    10
    to be administered as a search incident to arrest. See Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (2) (b) (806
    SE2d at 512). Consequently, the warrantless test of MacMaster’s breath was
    authorized by the search-incident-to-arrest exception to the warrant requirement
    under both the United States and Georgia Constitutions, irrespective of whether
    MacMaster’s consent was freely and voluntarily obtained for the breath test. See id.
    (b) MacMaster argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion in limine
    to exclude the admission of her statements consenting to the State-administered
    breath test and of the results of that test because the admission of that evidence at trial
    violated her constitutional right against self-incrimination under the United States and
    Georgia Constitutions. We are unpersuaded.
    The scope of the right against self-incrimination protected by the Fifth
    Amendment to the United States Constitution “is limited to evidence of a testimonial
    or communicative nature.” Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (2) (c) (806 SE2d at 513). See
    Schmerber v. California, 
    384 U.S. 757
    , 764 (II) (86 SCt 1826, 16 LE2d 908) (1966);
    Muhammad v. State, 
    282 Ga. 247
    , 250-251 (3) (647 SE2d 560) (2007); Scanlon v.
    State, 
    237 Ga. App. 362
    , 363-364 (1), (2) (514 SE2d 876) (1999). “[T]o be
    testimonial, an accused’s communication must itself, explicitly or implicitly, relate
    a factual assertion or disclose information.” Doe v. United States, 
    487 U.S. 201
    , 210
    11
    (II) (A) (108 SCt 2341, 101 LE2d 184) (1988). A defendant’s verbal consent to take
    a breath test and the results obtained from such a test are not evidence of a testimonial
    or communicative nature and thus do not implicate the right against self-incrimination
    under the Fifth Amendment. See Scanlon, 237 Ga. App. at 363-364 (1), (2).
    In contrast, a defendant’s right against self-incrimination afforded by Article
    I, Section I, Paragraph XVI of the Georgia Constitution (“Paragraph XVI”) protects
    against compelled breath tests. See Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (2) (c) (806 SE2d at 513-
    520). But, the right against self-incrimination under Paragraph XVI is not violated
    where the defendant voluntarily consents to the breath test rather than being
    compelled. See id. at __ (2) (c) (iii), (3) (b) (806 SE2d at 517-518, 523-524). And,
    whether a defendant is compelled to provide self-incriminating evidence
    in violation of Paragraph XVI is determined under the totality of the
    circumstances. Determining the voluntariness of (or lack of compulsion
    surrounding) a defendant’s incriminating statement or act involves
    considerations similar to those employed in determining whether a
    defendant voluntarily consented to a search. We have said that the
    voluntariness of a consent to search is determined by such factors as the
    age of the accused, his education, his intelligence, the length of
    detention, whether the accused was advised of his constitutional rights,
    the prolonged nature of questioning, the use of physical punishment, and
    the psychological impact of all these factors on the accused. In
    determining voluntariness, no single factor is controlling.
    12
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Id. at __ (3) (b) (806 SE2d at 523).
    Here, as discussed supra in Division 1 (a), the trial court committed no error
    in finding under the totality of the circumstances that MacMaster freely and
    voluntarily consented to the State-administered breath test. Accordingly, because
    MacMaster was not compelled to undergo the State-administered breath test, her right
    against self-incrimination under Paragraph XVI was not violated. See Olevik, __ Ga.
    at __ (3) (b) (806 SE2d at 523-524).
    (c) MacMaster also contends that the trial court should have excluded her
    verbal response consenting to the State-administered breath test because her consent
    was obtained after she was in police custody but before she had been advised of her
    rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 
    384 U.S. 436
     (86 SCt 1602, 16 LE2d 694) (1966).
    As discussed supra in Division 1 (b), a defendant’s Fifth Amendment right against
    self-incrimination is not implicated by a State-administered breath test. See Scanlon,
    237 Ga. App. at 363-364 (1), (2). “Thus, the absence of Miranda warnings does not
    require suppression of [MacMaster’s] consent to the breath test under federal law.”
    Id. at 364 (1). Additionally, we have held in a whole court decision that “an arrestee
    is not, under Georgia constitutional or statutory law, entitled to Miranda warnings
    before deciding whether to submit to the State’s request for an additional test of
    13
    breath, blood, or urine.” (Emphasis omitted.) State v. Coe, 
    243 Ga. App. 232
    , 234 (2)
    (533 SE2d 104) (2000), overruled in part on other grounds by Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (2)
    (c) (iv), n. 11 (806 SE2d at 520, n. 11). See Taylor v. State, 
    337 Ga. App. 486
    , 494
    (4) (a) (iii) (788 SE2d 97) (2016).
    Although MacMaster, with the permission of this Court, filed a supplemental
    brief to address the Supreme Court’s recent Olevik decision, she did not address in
    her brief whether or to what extent that decision might affect our ruling in Coe
    regarding the application of Miranda warnings under the Georgia Constitution. In the
    absence of any argument from MacMaster that we reconsider or overrule our decision
    in Coe as it pertains to Miranda warnings, we decline to address that issue here. See
    Mitchell v. State, 
    301 Ga. 563
    , 572 (4) (802 SE2d 217) (2017) (declining to
    reconsider precedent in absence of argument from appellant that it should be
    overruled). See also Olevik, __ Ga. at __(3) (a) (i), n. 13 (806 SE2d at 522, n. 13)
    (“To the extent Olevik argues that we should impose a Miranda-style prophylactic
    rule to protect suspects’ Paragraph XVI rights (rights the scope of which, as we have
    explained, were well-established long before the Supreme Court’s decision in
    Miranda), he does not point us to a single decision of this Court or any textual or
    14
    historical basis supporting such a step. In the absence of a more complete argument,
    we decline to address this issue.”).
    (d) MacMaster further argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion
    in limine to exclude the admission of her refusal to take the Alco-Sensor test.
    According to MacMaster, an Alco-Sensor test is a warrantless search of a suspect’s
    breath, and she should be able to invoke her Fourth Amendment right to refuse to
    consent to such a search without having her refusal used against her at trial.
    As previously noted, the administration of a breath test is a search under the
    Fourth Amendment. Birchfield, 136 SCt at 2173 (IV); Kendrick, 335 Ga. App. at 768.
    In Mackey v. State, 
    234 Ga. App. 554
    , 556 (507 SE2d 482) (1998), we held that “an
    individual should be able to invoke his Fourth Amendment rights without having his
    refusal used against him at trial.” However, Mackey involved a defendant’s refusal
    to consent to the warrantless search of a vehicle, and we pointed out that “[a]
    defendant’s refusal to consent to a warrantless search of his vehicle or other property
    is quite a different issue” from “a defendant’s refusal to submit to a blood or urine test
    for determining alcohol or drug content.” Id. at 555-556. As we have emphasized,
    “[t]he case law interpreting implied consent laws demonstrates that the judiciary
    overwhelmingly sanctions the use of civil penalties and evidentiary consequences
    15
    against DUI suspects who refuse to comply.” Hynes v. State, 
    341 Ga. App. 500
    , 508
    (801 SE2d 306) (2017). See Birchfield, 136 SCt at 2185 (VI); Olevik, __ Ga. at __ (3)
    (a) (i) (806 SE2d at 521). Hence, we have held that the refusal to take a State-
    administered chemical test under Georgia’s implied consent law is admissible at trial.
    See Szopinski v. State, 
    342 Ga. App. 647
    , 650 (1) (804 SE2d 657) (2017); Brooks v.
    State, 
    187 Ga. App. 194
    , 195 (1) (369 SE2d 801) (1988). We discern no reason why
    the same rule in favor of admission should not apply in the context of a defendant’s
    refusal to take an Alco-Sensor preliminary breath test, which we have previously held
    is admissible as circumstantial evidence tending to show that the defendant was
    impaired. See Korponai v. State, 
    314 Ga. App. 710
    , 712 (3) (a) (725 SE2d 832)
    (2012); Crusselle v. State, 
    303 Ga. App. 879
    , 881 (1) (694 SE2d 707) (2010).
    Moreover, MacMaster cannot demonstrate harm resulting from the alleged
    erroneous admission. Even error of constitutional magnitude can be held harmless,
    if “the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to
    the verdict,” such as when the evidence is cumulative of other properly admitted
    evidence or the evidence of the defendant’s guilt is overwhelming. (Citation and
    punctuation omitted.) Stovall v. State, 
    287 Ga. 415
    , 418 (3) (696 SE2d 633) (2010).
    16
    “Here, the direct evidence of [MacMaster’s] guilt for the DUI per se charge
    was overwhelming. As to that charge, there was no dispute [MacMaster] was driving
    [her] vehicle; [MacMaster] admitted [she] had consumed alcohol that evening; and
    the breath tests showed [MacMaster’s] BAC was substantially in excess of 0.08
    grams.” Jones v. State, 
    301 Ga. 544
    , 551 (3) (802 SE2d 234) (2017). Furthermore, the
    direct evidence of MacMaster’s guilt of failure to maintain lane is overwhelming, as
    reflected by the dash-cam recording from the first deputy’s patrol car clearly showing
    her driving infraction. See, e.g., Moore v. State, 
    242 Ga. App. 249
    , 251 (1) (a) (529
    SE2d 381) (2000) (defendant’s guilt was overwhelming, where evidence included
    video recording showing the armed robbery).
    Accordingly, even if we were to assume for the sake of argument that the
    admission of MacMaster’s refusal to take an Alco-Sensor test was constitutional
    error, it was harmless error that did not contribute to MacMaster’s convictions of DUI
    per se and failure to maintain lane. See Jones, 
    301 Ga. at 551
     (3). While it is a closer
    question whether admission of the refusal would have been harmful with respect to
    the jury’s guilty verdict for DUI less safe, that issue is moot in light of the trial court’s
    merger of that offense into MacMaster’s DUI per se conviction for purposes of
    sentencing. See 
    id.
    17
    2. MacMaster also contends that the trial court erred in denying her motion for
    new trial on the general grounds. See OCGA §§ 5-5-20;3 5-5-21.4 In this regard,
    MacMaster contends that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion and weigh the
    evidence in deciding whether to grant a new trial. See Walker v. State, 
    292 Ga. 262
    ,
    264 (2) (737 SE2d 311) (2013) (OCGA §§ 5-5-20 and 5-5-21 “afford the trial court
    broad discretion to sit as a ‘thirteenth juror’ and weigh the evidence on a motion for
    new trial alleging these general grounds”) (citation and punctuation omitted). We are
    unpersuaded.
    Here, the trial court’s order stated:
    The above-styled action came before the Court on April 24, 2016 for
    hearing of the Defendant’s Motion for New Trial. The Court heard the
    arguments of counsel, and after consideration of the arguments, a review
    of the record, and a review of the applicable law, this Court HEREBY
    DENIES the Defendant’s Motion on all grounds.”
    3
    OCGA § 5-5-20 provides: “In any case when the verdict of a jury is found
    contrary to evidence and the principles of justice and equity, the judge presiding may
    grant a new trial before another jury.”
    4
    OCGA § 5-5-21 provides: “The presiding judge may exercise a sound
    discretion in granting or refusing new trials in cases where the verdict may be
    decidedly and strongly against the weight of the evidence even though there may
    appear to be some slight evidence in favor of the finding.”
    18
    As our Supreme Court recently stated in a appeal involving a similar summary
    order denying a motion for new trial,
    Although the order did not explicitly state that the court was exercising
    its broad discretion . . . in deciding the motion, it is well established that
    this Court must presume that the trial judge knew the rule as to the
    necessity of exercising his discretion, and that he did exercise it. We can
    not assume, in the absence of positive evidence to the contrary, that the
    judge knowingly declined to exercise his discretion. Thus, where a trial
    judge ruling on a new trial motion enters an order that, without more,
    recites that the new trial is refused or denied, this will be taken to mean
    that the judge has in the exercise of his discretion approved the verdict.
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Butts v. State, 
    297 Ga. 766
    , 771-772 (3) (778
    SE2d 205) (2015). Consequently, MacMaster’s claim of error is without merit.
    Judgment affirmed. McMillian and Mercier, JJ., concur.
    19