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

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TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction and Overview ............................................................................ vi II. Understanding Criminal Cases A. The Role of Law Enforcement Officers and Expert Witnesses in Impaired-Driving Cases ............................. 1 B. Constitutional Principles ............................................................................2 C. Stages of a Criminal Case ...........................................................................4 III. Law Enforcement Testimony A. Standardized Field Sobriety Test Officers................................................6 B. Drug Evaluation and Classification Testimony......................................16 IV. The Scientific Experts: Toxicologists, Crash Reconstructionists, Optometrists and Other Medical Personnel .................................... 19 A. Toxicologists...............................................................................................20 B. Crash Reconstructionists ..........................................................................22 C. Optometrists...............................................................................................23 D. Medical Personnel .....................................................................................25 E. Medical Examiner/Forensic Pathologist .................................................26 Cross-Examination .................................................................................................27 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................28 Glossary of Terms...................................................................................................29 v
Introduction The criminal justice system is far more complex than most people understand— it entails more than a crime, an arrest, a trial, and either a conviction or an acquittal. You, the law enforcement officer or expert witness, through your profession, have been invited by a subpoena to testify. What does it all mean? How much time is it going to take? What will you be asked? Why do you have to be involved? This publication will provide you some guidance as to what it means to be a witness, what you can likely expect, and the importance of your role. It also provides an overview of the complexities of the criminal justice system to help explain why you may be called to testify more than once, and asked the same questions on the same subject for the same case. It is intended as a guide to help answer some of your initial questions and concerns. Detailed answers may come from colleagues who have previously testified in court, as well as from the attorney who subpoenaed you to testify. vi
Page 1 and 2: The Criminal Justice System: A Guid
Page 3: Acknowledgments While common in occ
Page 7 and 8: Before qualifying any witness as an
Page 9 and 10: In light of the constitutional prin
Page 11 and 12: Standardized Field Sobriety Test Of
Page 13 and 14: PRACTICE POINT QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Page 15 and 16: PRACTICE POINT USE CLEAR AND PRACTI
Page 17 and 18: classes taken as a law enforcement
Page 19 and 20: 4. You are not required to know any
Page 21 and 22: to convey this information in a man
Page 23 and 24: • How did you learn to take vital
Page 25 and 26: TOXICOLOGISTS The prosecutor will a
Page 27 and 28: whatsoever of these concepts, and t
Page 29 and 30: As with each of the other expert ca
Page 31 and 32: correlate to the seriousness of the
Page 33 and 34: CONCLUSION By its very nature, the
Page 35 and 36: to counsel and arranges for counsel
Page 37 and 38: One of the discovery items that the
Page 39 and 40: during its deliberations due to lac
Page 41 and 42: cause. A police officer may not sto
Page 43 and 44: such as drugs or a gun, or (3) iden

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