Attacking and defending blood tests

• Author: Don Bartell/Mary Catherine McMurray/Anne ImObersteg
• Pages: 379-406

14-1

CHAPTER 14

ATTACKING AND

DEFENDING BLOOD TESTS

I. GENERAL POINTS

§14:01 Blood Tests Are Very Challengeable

§14:02 Blood Tests Are Challenged Less Frequently

§14:03 Attacking Blood Tests

§14:04 Attacking the Sample

II. THE COLLECTION PROCESS

§14:10 General Points

§14:11 Persons Authorized to Draw Blood

§14:12 Preparing the Puncture Site

§14:13 The Blood Draw

§14:14 Mixing the Sample

§14:15 Cross-Examining the Phlebotomist

§14:16 Sample Cross-Examination

§14:17 Track the Amount of the Sample

§14:18 Checklist for Reviewing the Collection Process

III. CHAIN OF CUSTODY

§14:20 The Prosecution Must Establish the Chain of Custody with Reasonable Certainty

§14:21 Gaps Go to Weight Rather Than Admissibility

§14:22 Inappropriate Gaps

§14:23 Stipulations to Chain of Custody

§14:24 Peripheral Issues Go to Weight Rather Than Admissibility

IV. FERMENTATION IN THE BLOOD SAMPLE

§14:30 Fermentation Is One of the Main Attack on Blood Tests

§14:31 Preservation

§14:31.1 How Long Is the Preservative “Inhibitor” Good For?

§14:32 Refrigeration

§14:33 Thoughts on Challenging Blood Tests

§14:34 Should the Defense Reanalyze the Blood Sample?

ATTACKING & DEFENDING

BLOOD TESTS

Attacking and Defending Drunk Driving Tests 14-2

ATTACKING & DEFENDING

BLOOD TESTS

V. THE BLOOD ALCOHOL ANALYSIS PROCESS

§14:40 Threshold Determinations

§14:41 Hospital Laboratory Privacy Rights

§14:42 Whole Blood

§14:43 Plasma and Serum

§14:44 Limitations of Gas Chromatography

§14:45 Dual Columns Reduce the Weakness of Gas Chromatography

§14:45.1 The Breakthrough Study on Dual Column Gas Chromatography

§14:46 Head Space or Direct Injection

§14:47 Traceability and Uncertainty

VI. CROSSEXAMINATION OF THE PROSECUTION’S EXPERT

A. General Points

§14:50 Remember Your Advantage

§14:51 The Goals of the Cross-Examination

§14:52 Consider the Sequence

B. The Sequence of Cross-Examination

§14:60 The Expert’s Bias

§14:61 The Expert’s Lack of Personal Knowledge

§14:62 The Lawyer’s Expertise

§14:63 The Expert’s Lack of Expertise

§14:64 The Problems With the Blood Sample

C. Sample Cross-Examination

§14:70 General Points

§14:71 The Expert’s Bias

§14:72 The Expert’s Lack of Personal Knowledge

§14:73 The Lawyer’s Expertise

§14:74 The Expert’s Lack of Expertise

§14:75 Problems With the Blood Sample

§14:76 Checklist for Attacking Blood Tests

§14:77 Blood Testing Articles

VII. DEFENDING BLOOD TESTS

§14:80 Gas Chromatography

§14:81 Emphasize That Blood Tests Are Direct Measurements of Alcohol Levels

§14:82 Build the Credibility