Expert Witnesses in Lubbock DUI Drug Cases

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It is against the law to drive while intoxicated. However, it may still be a hard case for prosecutors to prove because there is a per se limit. Meaning, the prosecutor is more likely to get a guilty verdict if they can prove the alcohol the accused was above a 0.08. Each drug is independent and the prosecutor has to prove that by having that drug in the system, the amount that is in the system, that the person has lost the normal use of their mental or physical faculties and that oftentimes is difficult to do.

The prosecution typically uses expert witnesses in Lubbock DUI drug cases as proof for a guilty verdict. However, a distinguished DUI drug lawyer can help you mitigate these charges by conducting their own investigation on your behalf.

Expert Testimonies for DUID Testing

The state has to present expert witnesses in Lubbock DUI drug cases to testify if they have taken a blood test. They would need to hire an expert who would be qualified to testify based on their training and experience that this amount of drug in the system would cause the defendant to lose a normal use of their mental or physical faculties. Experts are typically somebody with a Ph.D. in chemistry or experience in a toxicology program. 

Challenging the Expert

An attorney can challenge the qualifications of expert witnesses in Lubbock DUI drug cases. They often question whether or not they should even be allowed to testify to lose of normal use. They may do this by questioning the relevance of knowing there are other drugs in someone’s system and how they can perceive the effect on normal use of mental and physical faculties. The defense can then prove that the relevance of the expert’s testimony may not be admissible in court.

There are all of the other challenges that they can make, such as challenging:

  • The stop
  • The arrest

Field Sobriety Tests

Attorneys challenge field sobriety tests to prove there is no scientific data that correlates whether or not a person has errors on a field sobriety tests with whether or not they have lost the normal use of their mental or physical faculties based on the introduction of drugs into their system.  A skilled attorney can file a motion to keep out the field sobriety test on an individual’s behalf and break down the credibility of expert witnesses in Lubbock DUI drug cases. Having any evidence to disprove the effect on mental and physical faculties could be more prejudicial to a defendant when disproving relevance.

Role of Marijuana

With active THC, somebody smokes a joint, immediately gets the high, and over the next couple of hours or maybe an hour or 90 minutes, they have the effects of the high; that would be the best chance for a prosecution to get to intoxication. The inactive THC stays in a person’s body for weeks depending on a person’s metabolism, their chemical makeup, their body fat, so it may be that a drug test for a THC can show inactive THC in a person’s system from 30 days ago and in that inactive THC, there is no effect of loss of normal use.

In other words, there is no residual high. However, expert witnesses in Lubbock DUI drug cases may try to prove that. Inactive THC is not making someone lose the normal use of their mental or physical faculties. Despite the alleged presence of THC,  the prosecution cannot prove that the specific amount of THC has impacted the normal use of an individual’s mental and physical faculty.