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What type of discovery matters in your San Diego DUI Case
There are important pieces of information in your criminal case that must be asked for in order to adequately prepare for your case. I will break down the information based on the type of examination that was conducted by the officers during your DUI arrest in San Diego. The following is the evidence you should be requesting:
Breath Test Cases:
- Officer training history on the particular machine used in the case
- Current laboratory license
- Method laboratory has adopted or submitted to the state for BAC testing
- Copy of the manufacturer’s manual for the breath machine used.
- Titration records for the simulator solution.
- Accuracy check records for two months before and after the date of the test
- Logs showing how many persons were tested during the period two months
Blood and Urine Test Cases:
- Spilt portion of blood or urine sample obtained from the defendant
- Methodology used in the analysis (lab procedure)
- Bench notes analyst created during the time of his or her analysis
- Results of the controls used in the run. These are known solutions or blanks
- Result of the defendant’s sample
- Actual chromatograms of the test of the defendant’s sample
- Interference testing that was done to insure that other compounds or volatiles were not mistakenly being analyzed as ethanol
- Copy of the “run list.”
- Maintenance records pertaining to the particular device used to measure the blood or urine sample for three months before and after the defendant’s sample was analyzed.
Chain of Custody for DUI Cases:
- Review of the vial the sample was deposited in, or a copy of the information set forth on the vial.
- Records reflecting any proficiency tests given by an independent organization within the last year to the laboratory and the analyst
- Records reflecting any internal proficiency tests given within the last year to the analyst
- Records reflecting any accuracy checks conducted on any on vials purchased from a manufacturer
- Instructions or checklist used by the phlebotomist for the blood draw, or by the person who obtained the urine sample
In any DUI case it is important to question the experts in a way that allows the jurors to understand the process behind how the results were reached. A lot of times the samples that were derived from the machines are due to part of a large automated process. Asking for certain discovery about the process will allow you to prepare for the questions at hand. It is a misconception that jurors tend to believe that the DUI arresting agency gave the defendant’s test sample individualized attention by having a scientist look at the sample. If you have any questions about the information in your San Diego criminal case, contact experienced San Diego DUI attorney Vik Monder at 619.405.0063 or visit San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer
