Is the phrase “based upon the totality of the circumstances” science or science fiction? One of the most often used phrases in an American courtroom uttered by police officers nationwide hundreds of times a day is that “under the totality of the circumstances” they came to some sort of opinion. This type of logic is […]
What is the relevant scientific community for the Drug Recognition Expert?
What is the relevant scientific community for the Drug Recognition Expert? I, like an astonishing 500 million people, have a Facebook profile. I primarily use it to connect with friends and colleagues. I like it a lot. One day, Facebook suggested that I try to join the group DrugRecognitionExpert. The page states: Simply, this Facebook-based […]
SFSTs are unproven assumptions– “on her most gymnastic day”
The change to the SFSTs Very recently the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published their new Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) opus. Here is the link to the new 2013 Guide: http://www.tdcaa.com/sites/default/files/page/2013%20SFST%20Participant%20Manual.pdf In the new 2013 version of the SFST Guide (note the change in […]
Standardized Field Sobriety Test and Age: 40 is the new 65
Standardized Field Sobriety Test and Age: Why At Age 40 You Are Over the Hill The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests have been used since the 1980’s to aid officers in the field in their decision-making to arrest motorists. But are they useful for all ages? When I turned 35, I started to get direct mailing […]
Roadside breath testing for drugs?
There is little doubt that there is a research push for roadside testing for screening purposes for drugs of abuse and illicit drugs. All one needs to do is to come to any national or regional forensic science meeting or pull the various agendas to see what is being discussed. It’s oral fluid roadside testing […]
A Pharmacologist and a DRE
[I am quite sure that this post will attract some response from the DRE community. If you comment, I will print it provided it does not have curse words or is an ad hominem attack with no substantive merit] When those who defend the motorist accused are confronted with a DUID case and where there […]
Only in the bizarro “science” world of forensic science: I only consider the data the DA tells me to
Remember this scene from Seinfeld? I had a brush of this of similar type today. Science versus science fiction… The Bizarro World (also known as Htrae) is a fictional planet in the DC comics universe. Introduced in the early 1960s, Htrae is a cube-shaped planet, home to Bizarro and his companions, all of whom were […]
The Pharmacology of Ethanol: When the Number Doesn’t Match the Science
The pharmacology of ethanol has been well-studied for a great many years. Lost to antiquity is precisely where and when the pharmacodynamics of ethanol was first studied. However, it is clear that ethanol’s effects on the human being was well known dating back to perhaps neolithic times perhaps as long ago as 9,000 years ago. […]
The known pharmacology of EtOH: Impossible BAC or BrAC Numbers
It seems every day, there is some sort of news report that claims that there is a new “record breaking” Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or Breath Alcohol Content (BrAC) result in a DUI case. Is this so? Ethanol is perhaps the most studied drug in the history of mankind. As such, and due to the […]
DUID cases and the context of analytical chemistry results
In a Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) case there are many questions that the government has to answer in order for there to be a conviction. One of the most important questions that the government likes to frame the case in is whether or not there is impairment? This is the incorrect question, […]
Why per se Driving Under the Influence of Drug Based Prosecution is Not Scientific and How Probation Violations for Marijuana Use May Be Wrong
I cannot imagine that a single rational and sane person cares for drug impaired drivers to be on the road among us driving what amounts to a guided missile weighing about 3,000 to 5,500 pounds or more. As has been shown time and again, a drug intoxicated driver can be a weapon of mass destruction. […]
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