Court Testimony

The purpose of this page is to assist the DRE with court testimony. When it comes to testifying in court, it will not matter how well you performed the evaluation of the suspect if you can not deliver your findings or opinion to the jury. The DRE is expected to be professional and above the normal trained Police Officer. A DRE has received specialized training in detecting the signs and symptoms of drug influence.

Be prepared: Do not wait until the day of your trial to look through your field notes and evaluation results.

While performing the evaluation document everything observed, not just the pass fail cues of the test.

Complete a detailed and informative report after the evaluation is complete while everything is still fresh in your mind. Remember it may be two years or more down the road when you actually go to trial for your involvement with the arrest.

Do not forget to document other signs and symptoms you observe such as: examples; Reddened Conjunctiva, Track Marks, Smacking of the lips, Dry mouth, open sores, take photographs,
statements made by subject, Statements made by nurses, physicians, Emt's, witnesses, signs of impairment before and after the evaluation, personal graffiti such as tattoos of drug
consumption, drug paraphernalia artwork on clothing, vehicle, etc.

Keep up on your readings.

Research; always continue to research everything you can dealing with drugs, in books, videos, web sites etc.