Expert Witnesses in California DUI Cases

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The use of experts is extremely important in California Driving Under the Influence (DUI), or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUID) cases. Because the prosecution will be putting the arresting officer and the criminalist on during his or her case to testify as to why the defendant is guilty, it is vital that the defense is able to put on its own witnesses to counter that. Experts can talk about chemical tests, field sobriety tests, accident reconstruction, scientific aspects of being under the influence, and so on.

Chemical Tests: Experts can discuss possible flaws with both breath and blood tests, such as that the breath machine is not properly calibrated or fermentation occurred with the blood and a higher alcohol reading was the result.

Field Sobriety Tests: Experts can use a person’s performance of field sobriety tests (FST's) to support their opinion that the motorist accused of DUI was not under the influence at the time of driving. If the FST’s are performed well, they can use this to show that there was no physical impairment (if there is good balance, no swaying, etc.) and no mental impairment (if the person followed instructions, counted in correct order, etc).

Alcohol Level at time of Driving vs. Alcohol Level at time of Testing: Experts are often called to testify to rebut the presumption that if a person was drunk at time of the chemical test that they must have been drunk at the time of driving. Since the chemical tests are always given at least many minutes, sometimes even an hour or two after driving, the blood alcohol content (BAC) very often is not the same at both times.

Accident Reconstruction: It is often helpful (especially in a felony DUI arrest) to have an expert in the field of accident reconstruction.

It's imperative to examine the accident scene and the vehicles involved as quickly as possible, because skid marks and other crucial evidence can disappear quickly. An experienced accident reconstructionist will take photographs of the vehicles and the crash scene and preserve any evidence that is helpful to the defense. Measurements of the accident scene also will help reconstruct the circumstances of the crash.

An experienced accident reconstructionalist will study every detail, including weather conditions, road conditions, traffic patterns, lighting, etc. Skid marks are especially telling - they show whether drivers reacted to imminent danger or were unaware of the impending accident.

An investigation by experienced California DUI lawyer with expert technical support is extremely important when presenting a defense to a Driving Under the Influence (DUI), or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charges.