The Role Of Drug Recognition Experts In Drugged Driving Investigations

What Is A Drug Recognition Expert?

A drug recognition expert, also known as a DRE, is a police officer trained to recognize when someone is under the influence of a specific type of drug.

When someone has been arrested for a DUI, the arresting officer brings in a DRE to determine the amount of impairment or to help solidify their case because, usually, the officer who makes the arrest is not a drug recognition expert.

How Does A DRE Make Determinations?

The DREs conduct 12 tests similar to field sobriety tests that the arresting officer has already done. It’s usually done back at the station in a more controlled environment. They do things with your pupils, have you in a dark room, check your skin rigidity, check your pulse, and other things that are supposed to help them determine what drug you are on and if you’re impaired by it.

How Can An Attorney Help With DRE Involvement?

Studies regarding Drug Recognition Experts indicate that the testing these officers do to become DREs leads to about 30 or 40% accuracy when labeling drug usage. It is an inexact evaluation process.

At the Law Office of Aaron Bortel, we understand how the DRE training works and use that information to show how inaccurate DRE testimonies and findings may be.

We request the rolling logs of these DRE officers through the discovery process, which indicates the accuracy of their guessing what substance someone is on from back in their training days up to the arrest of the person we’re representing. We challenge and fight. Fortunately, it’s much harder to get a conviction for prosecution on a drug DUI than an alcohol DUI.

The tactics of DRE officers are not an exact science, so hopefully, the lack of accuracy is exposed in a jury trial situation so that those tasked with the extraordinary task of determining whether someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt have all the facts and information.

With the guidance of a skilled attorney for DUI Law Cases, you can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that we’ll make it look easy.

For more information on DUI Defense Law in California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (415) 886-6333 today.