So, not a Georgia case, but worth a note is United States v. Small, 2023 US Appp. Lexis 17117 (3d Cir. July 7, 2023). During a traffic stop, the officer held up a backpack found under the seat and asked Smalls if it was his. Smalls said it was not. This was abandonment of the backpack and allowed the search of its contents. Any subjective expectation of privacy that Smalls might have had in the backpack was eliminated by his denial that the backpack was his.
It bears repeating. Do not make any statements. Smalls was not required to answer the question. If Smalls had remained silent, as was his right, then his lawyer would have been able to challenge the search of the backpack. Whether that challenge would have been successful or not is a different question, but because he denied the backpack was his, it is an issue that his lawyer was not able to raise.
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