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1. Visit the scene. You are the only one who hasn't been there. Do you really want the defendant to know more about the scene than you do?

2. Get booking photos. Often they are in stark contrast to the defendant's sober appearance in court. Also, compare the defendant's drunken scrawl on the booking log with his straight, sober signature on his driver's license.

3. Take the same field sobriety training as officers. To explain standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) to a jury, you had better know them inside and out. For the latest on SFST, see the newly released CD-ROM from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), complete with instructions, validation studies and digital video suitable for demonstrative purposes in court. To order a copy, visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

4. Spend time with your toxicologist. More prosecutors need to understand retrograde extrapolation of blood alcohol tests. Can you explain the difference between a medical blood sample versus a forensic sample? Learn the reach and limits of toxicology and what you can reasonably expect from a toxicologist. Check out Alcohol Toxicology for Prosecutors from APRI's Special Topic Series at www.ndaa.org/pdf/toxicology_final.pdf.

5. Review police agency checkpoint policies. NHTSA is leading a national push for increased sobriety checkpoints. Are your local agencies complying with state and federal constitutional requirements? Are they informing you of mobilizations? Are you ready? Editor’s Note: Please note that Michigan is not a sobriety checkpoint state, however it is important to know the law as to why sobriety checkpoints are not used in Michigan. For further information, please contact the PAAM Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor.

6. Take a breathalyzer test. Take a field trip to your local jail's booking facility and spend 20 seconds blowing into the machine. What you learn will help you dispatch a number of defenses in lightning speed.

7. Know your procedures regarding medical records. Some states allow medical records to be obtained through subpoena or warrant. Also, many hospitals are slow to release records while they struggle to interpret the new Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA). Avoid the medical records issue altogether by assisting officers in securing a search warrant to obtain a blood draw from a defendant or to obtain the medical sample from the hospital. The medical sample is subject to seizure; after all, it is material evidence of a crime.

8. Develop strong visuals. Seeing is believing. If you don't use visual aids, juries will only retain 20% of what you say. PowerPoint templates for impaired driving trials are available from PAAM’s traffic safety program.

9. Build a strong relationship with law enforcement agencies. Do ride-alongs. Understand how your cases originate on the road and move into court. Offer to conduct roll-call trainings. Invite officers to observe a DUI trial from jury selection to verdict. As in most things, a team approach makes everyone's job easier.

10. Remember, you are not alone. While a cadre of defense attorneys may await your next visit to court, you are not outnumbered. A strong national, state and local community of prosecutors and other professionals is waiting to help you in any possible way. For more information on any of these topics go to www.ndaa.org/apri/programs/traffic/ntlc_home.html.

Go-To Sites for Crash Reconstruction
Resources for law enforcement www.legalsciences.com
Accident reconstruction network www.accidentreconstruction.com
Weather info for specific cities www.wunderground.com
Sunrise/sunset times, moon phases http://aa.usno.navy.mil
Recall information www.consumerreports.org
Crush coefficients, vehicle specifications www.neptuneeng.com
American Prosecutors Research Institute http://www.ndaa.org/research/research_home.html

Editor’s Note:Originally appeared in Between the Lines, Vol. 12, No. 3. The American Prosecutors Research Institute merged into and is survived by the National District Attorneys Association. Reprinted with permission of the National District Attorneys Association, National Traffic Law Center. For further information, please visit www.ndaa.org.