The Criminal Justice System: A Guide for Law Enforcement ... - NHTSA

whatsoever of these concepts, and therefore it is imperative to limit scientific jargon as
much as possible.
PRACTICE POINT
USE ANALOGIES
When discussing a scientific principle, immediately follow it up with a simple analogy.
Example:
Scientific principle: Alcohol is eliminated at a fixed or linear rate (“zero order kinetics”),
thus enabling a toxicologist, in many circumstances, to perform retrograde extrapolation
(use a math equation to determine someone’s BAC a short period of time in the past,
measured in hours, not days). However, the elimination rate of other drugs, depending
upon their specific half-life (the period of time it takes the body to get rid of one-half of the
substance) cannot be plotted on a straight line, but rather, is plotted on a curved line over
time (“first order kinetics”). Drug pharmacodynamics—the processes of absorption,
distribution, metabolism, and elimination—do not occur in set chronological fashion, one
after the other, but rather, in combination with each other. Drug effects are also related to
the timeline of drug use, will change over time, and may be further complicated by the
presence of some active metabolites, which themselves will cause certain effects.
Simple analogy: 5 A baseball dropped by a 10-year-old sitting in a tree house, high above
the ground, will fall straight down (alcohol zero order elimination). With practice, the child
might even be able to reasonably predict how long the ball takes to hit the ground
(alcohol retrograde). If that same 10-year-old then drops a maple leaf attached to an
acorn, it should hit the ground at about the same time as the baseball (other drugs with
zero order elimination). However, what would happen if he dropped only the leaf, without
the acorn? It will drop much more slowly—as it is tossed and turned in the breeze—than
the baseball or the leaf with the acorn. The leaf’s size also changes during descent as
pieces break off in the wind (changing drug half-life); this also causes its rate of descent
to slow. Eventually the leaf gets to the ground, but not in a straight line nor in a
predictable time frame (drug first order elimination).
CRASH RECONSTRUCTIONISTS
The physics and math used by crash reconstructionists can be some of the most
confusing testimony any prosecutor will have to elicit and any juror will have to hear.
Even before trial, a prosecutor handling a crash case that resulted in injuries or death will
need to meet with the crash reconstructionist to learn what the police report means—Who
was driving? What role did the driver(s) play in the crash? Were the EDRs (“Event Data
Recorders” commonly referred to as “black boxes”) recovered? If yes, what information
did they yield? If no, get them to find out what information they contain. (This may
require a search warrant.) Were there mechanical problems with any of the involved
vehicles? If yes, should the owner have been aware of these problems? Have there been
any recalls for manufacturer’s defects? Was road design/condition a contributing factor?
5 This analogy first appeared in Drug Toxicology for Prosecutors: Targeting Hardcore Impaired Drivers,
Dr. Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D. Published by the American Prosecutors Research Institute, October 2004 and
available for downloading at http://www.ndaa-apri.org/publications/apri/traffic_law.html
22