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