Accident reconstruction is an important, but often overlooked tool, of a DUI defense. Where there has been an accident, the responding police officers and detectives write a traffic collision report. This is often the only means the prosecutor will be able to piece together the events leading up to the crash and its aftermath.
However, the defense should never rely solely on the often incomplete collision report, generated by an often untrained officer in the field. The defense’s case can be strengthened by critically assessing the reconstruction and doing follow-up investigation to close any gaps in the case. This is of particular importance where a person is being charged with California Vehicle Code Section 23153-DUI with injury. Cases such as these can even take a turn for the worse, where the injured party dies, and the defendant is charged with manslaughter.
Important areas of concern are:
?The current location of the vehicles involved in the crash. Have they been transported? Are they covered or indoors? The defense should conduct a thorough inspection, with pictures, of the vehicles.
?Are the locations of witnesses known and documented? These witnesses may prove valuable to the defense and they should be interviewed as soon as possible.
?Have all aspects of the scene been photographed: vehicle(s) at final resting position, evidence of the area of impact, witness perspectives, collision debris distribution, operator’s view approaching crash, road evidence, interiors of the vehicles, vehicle damage.
?Whether the vehicles, bodies, or evidence moved prior to being documented by police?
?Does the collision report contain a scale drawing? If so, check it out for reliability.
?Was the drag factor of the road measured at the scene? Drag factor relates to the estimated speed of the vehicle. This is often a fertile area for the defense, as the prosecutor will make their case on high or unsafe vehicle speeds, which the drag factor estimates may dispute.
?Check for documentation of all road evidence, such as tire marks.
?Recreating the conditions leading up to the crash, such as weather, ambient lighting, road topography, etc. that may have affected the defendant before and during the crash.
Accident Reconstruction Expert Witness
Thus, theres always a chance that youll need the services of an expert witness at some point in your life. Hiring an expert witness can solidify your case against the other party; if you hire the right expert witness service, the company will able to provide more than adequate proof and reliable testimony in court to support your claim.
Even if you dont need to hire the right expert witness service now, you could need one later so its better to be prepared in advance. The expect witness service youll avail of must meet the following criteria:
1. Adequate Courtship Experience
You cant hire a novice to act as your expert witness. Court room battles are vicious and if the expert witness doesnt have any experience in providing testimonies, his claims will be shredded to bits even if hes telling the truth. An experienced expert witness knows on the other hand how to handle himself in court and modify his behavior and speech depending on the type of lawyer or judge whos questioning him. An experienced expert witness knows when to act calm or passionate and above all, how to be utterly convincing.
2. Proficiency in Report Making
Expert witnesses are almost always required to submit detailed reports about their findings. If an expert witness doesnt have excellent writing skills and adequate experience in creating reports, he will once more be subject to more abuse from the other partys legal counsel. Facts can easily be overturned if they are not stated convincingly. Ask for samples of your expert witness reports to visualize how he can help win your case.
3. Achievements and Credentials
Although titles dont define a person, they do carry significant weight in the court room. Consider this: if a jury is debating on the quality of education being provided by a certain school, that type of expert witness will they be more inclined to believe one who has sufficient experience in teaching and have a long list of professional credits and certification to his name or one who has simply had the benefit of graduating from high school? It may not be fair but thats how the world or more specifically, the law works. Knowing this, why hire one who doesnt have enough credentials when you can hire an expert witness that has them?
4. Degree of Involvement in an Industry
If you are looking for an expert witness to help you win a dispute over a real estate property, you will do better if you hire an expert witness who happens to work in the real estate industry as well. Being an active member of the industry helps the expert witness become a better judge and adviser. The expert witness doesnt rely on his observations and analytic skills alone to render a judgment; his actual work experience helps him greatly as well in coming up with valid and accurate results.
5. Training and Workshops Attended
Believe it or not, there are trainings, workshops and seminars offered to help expert witnesses improve in their line of work. These additional classes will help expert witnesses attain their goals in a more effective and efficient manner.
6. Paying the Right Price
Of course, expert witness services come in a range of prices. Their rates depend on the amount of experience they have and the extent of work theyll be expending for your case. Its your call if you wish to go over your budget and secure a favorable outcome of your case.
7. Reputation Matters
Lastly, although its you who have hired the expert witness, he must still remember and understand that his primary duty is to help the court seek the truth. Thats why his reputation matters as well. If hes known to take bribes and make dishonest or biased claims in favor of the hiring party, his professionalism will surely be questioned in the court room. In the worst case scenario, his opinion would be rendered invalid and youll end up having hired him for no reason.
Both Darren Kavinoky & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.