| When it comes to court time, the prosecution (police or | | | | and found it to be a strict instruction list on how to |
| sheriff's department) will often use evidence from their | | | | answer. The instructions explained to the witness on |
| key witness in the crime lab. The expert that provides | | | | what to say verbatim, not what their experience was |
| evidence of toxicology is the crime lab's blood-alcohol | | | | or anything that they knew unique to the case. |
| expert. These key witnesses, often called forensic | | | | If fact some of the questions where basically saying to |
| toxicologists, will often go to the stand and describe | | | | play dumb and state that "it's impossible to remember |
| what amount of alcohol was found in the blood, what | | | | each blood draw." This was the prosecutions method |
| is done to find this level while describing the steps in | | | | of putting away DUI cases without a matter of a |
| laymen's terms. They are probably the singe most | | | | doubt simply to make their toxicologist follow along a |
| important witness, because they back up the evidence | | | | set of guidelines on what to do rather than what they |
| of blood alcohol levels -- something that a breathalyzer | | | | know happened during testing -- a true conflict and a |
| may not do 100 percent of the time. | | | | pretty blatant case of dishonesty. |
| The honesty of all those in the chain of evidence | | | | Another 'Expert Witness' Gone Wrong |
| gathering at the police department is important to the | | | | Another toxicologist was found, not to have been |
| case at hand, but recently a San Diego DUI lawyer | | | | giving testimony with scripted lines, but scripting a false |
| found the toxicologist's testimony odd since most of | | | | resume instead. During an employee record audit at |
| his account seem to come from a paper he was | | | | the San Diego Sheriff Department's Crime lab, it was |
| referring to during questioning. | | | | found that an often used key witness, Raymond Cole, |
| Afterwards, San Diego attorney Cole Casey | | | | had falsified his resume. It was found that Cole's |
| approached the toxicologist and asked him what he | | | | resume states that instead of graduating from |
| was reading during the testimony. To his surprise the | | | | Berkeley in pre-med, he had actually graduated with a |
| witness showed him the paper he was referencing | | | | bachelor's in political science. |