COURT PRESENTATION

Evidence is the information you use in court to convince the judge to make the order
you've asked for. The judge decides what evidence can or can't be presented
in (shown to) court.

One way to present your evidence is by getting an expert opinion.

Regular witnesses can't usually give their opinions in court. But a qualified expert can
give an opinion based on:

 what they've seen or learned directly, or

 information other people gave them.
Their opinion has to give the court information that the judge wouldn't normally know
(for example, about certain health conditions).

An expert witness has special knowledge of a certain area because of their:

 training,
 education, and
 work experience.
Toxicologist who testifies on poisoning, overdose, and exposure to drugs, alcohol, toxins, or
biological agents. Toxicology is a field of medicine dealing with the treatment of poisoning,
drug overdose, and exposure to toxins or biological agents.

The “best evidence” rule may be invoked when copies are being introduced into evidence.
Photocopies of toxicological results are usually acceptable unless their authenticity is
questioned. Therefore, it is wise to authenticate copies before bringing them to court. Notes
used to refresh one’s memory while testifying are not considered evidence and do not come
under this rule.

Clinical toxicologists will often be asked their opinion regarding the toxicity of a substance; i.e.,
did a toxin cause an injury? Before an opinion can be rendered, foundation must be established
by admitting the testimony of the injury and results of a toxicological examination into evidence.
Attorneys will make objections based on the “lack of foundation” when the expert’s opinion
assumes facts not in evidence. Although allows experts to base an opinion or interpretation on
other opinions or inferences made known to them before a hearing, the majority of courts reject
this and require personal knowledge or prior introduction of the evidence upon which the opinion
is based. Therefore, if a toxicologist is going to base an opinion on analytical results from
another laboratory, the results must first be placed in evidence. The presentation of expert
testimony in the form of an opinion may take the form of a hypothetical question. In this case,
the legal counsel who called the expert to testify will frame a question around a set of facts
already in evidence, upon which the expert can form an opinion.

An example might be: Assuming an individual has a blood alcohol concentration of 115 mg/dL
and this same individual has diazepam in the blood, do you have an opinion as to whether these
drugs would have an effect on driving a motor vehicle? Although many more facts may be in
evidence and the question would be more detailed, this is illustrative of opinion evidence based
on a hypothetical question. Any question asked of the expert witness must not be leading,
confusing, or compound. When asked such an “improper question,” the expert should pause
before speaking. This pause will allow counsel to object to the question. Sometimes, counsel
will object that the answer is “nonresponsive.” Often the expert has not directly answered the
question, or has answered a question that was implied but not stated. Witnesses with scientific
knowledge will often incorrectly assume that implied questions are obvious to the nonscientific
members of the court. The best way to avoid this objection is to always answer the question
asked and not the unasked question.

https://watermark.silverchair.com/clinchem1337.pdf?
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Training/Experience

• Please introduce yourself to the members of the jury.

• What is your occupation? (forensic toxicologist)
• What is a forensic toxicologist?
• What does a forensic toxicologist do?
• What is your educational background?
• What training and experience do you have in the field of forensic toxicology?
• What training and experience do you have that enables you to test blood/urine specimens for
the presence of drugs?
• How are you currently employed?
• How long have you worked at the lab?
• What are your duties?
• How long have you been a forensic toxicologist?
• Other than blood/urine, what other substances can be tested for drugs?
• How many cases does your laboratory test annually?
• How many blood/urine tests have you run in your career?
• Have you taught in the field of forensic toxicology?
• Have you published any articles in that field?
• Are you the member of any professional organizations? Please name them.
• Why do you belong to the organization(s)?
• Do you attend seminars or conferences related to your field on a regular basis?
• Why do you attend seminars and conferences?
• Have you ever been qualified as an expert in the field of forensic toxicology?
• How many times? • In what courts have you been qualified as an expert?
• Were they civil or criminal proceedings?
• In what areas of expertise have you been previously qualified?
• Have you been qualified concerning (Blood, Urine, Breath, Oral Fluids)
• How many times? (for the relevant evidence in this trial)

“At this time the State would like to tender________________ as an expert in the field of
forensic toxicology ”

• Showing you what has previously been marked as State’s Exhibit ___ [urine/blood report] for
identification, do you recognize it?
• How do you recognize it? (bears signature)
• Whose toxicology result does this contain?
• Why did you test the sample of this defendant?
• I am showing you what has been marked as State’s Exhibit Number ____ for identification
purposes. (blood/urine kit and defendant’s blood/urine samples) Do you recognize it?
• How?
• Whose sample is this?
• How do you know?
• How did that exhibit come in to your possession?
• How was it packaged and marked?
• Was it in a sealed container?
• Was the seal intact?
• Can you describe its condition when you received it?
• Was there any evidence of tampering?
• When the sealed sample was received, was it identified in any way by the lab?
• How was it identified?
• Where do you store the kits prior to testing?
• Was this sample stored in that area?
• How do you know?
• Is the lab a secured environment?
• What security features does the lab maintain?
• Does the lab have limited access?
• Without discussing the results of the testing, what if anything was done with the blood/urine
sample when you received it at the lab?
• Was the sample continuously in the care, custody and control of your lab?
• How do you know that?
• What do you do with the blood/urine kit after you test it?
• Was there a leftover sample for the defendant to do his own testing? (only ask if known)
• What is the next step in the testing procedure? (a lab report is prepared)
• Was a lab report generated for the sample of the defendant, ____________________?

Testing

• What is the testing procedure used to analyze this sample?

• Can you describe how it works?
• What procedure do you follow when you test a blood sample?
• Is the testing procedure accurate and reliable?
• Do you use any controls during your analysis?
• What controls do you use?
• Why do you use controls?
• How do the controls work?
• Is this testing procedure generally accepted in the scientific community?
• What is considered the best testing method in forensic urine drug testing?Why is this so?
• Is this the same method used in toxicology labs throughout the nation?
• Was the instrument reading accurately and reliably during the analysis of this sample?
• How do you know?
• Blood: Was the defendant’s blood clotted or congealed when you ran the sample?
• Blood: How could you tell?
• Blood: Why does it matter whether the defendant’s blood was clotted or congealed?
• What did you do with the sample when you were finished?
• From the time you opened the blood kit until the time you tested the samples were the
defendant’s blood samples in your care custody and control?
• Is State’s exhibit number _____ for identification in substantially the same condition as when
you finished sealing it after performing the tests?

Move blood/urine kit into evidence

Business Record Predicate

• Turning your attention back to State’s Exhibit ___ for identification, was this document made at
or near the time of the test?
• Was it made in the ordinary course of the lab’s business?
• Are these reports usually kept in the ordinary course of your business?
• Is it a copy or the original?
• Is it a true and accurate copy?
Move lab report into evidence

• Showing you what has been marked as State’s Exhibit ______ (lab report), did you review all
aspects of the testing of this sample before signing the report?
• What were the results of the laboratory analysis of the defendant’s blood/urine sample?
Alcohol

• What does _____ (blood test result) mean?

• What is the legal limit for blood alcohol level?
• What signs and symptoms does alcohol produce in the body?
• At what levels does alcohol begin to produce these effects?
• Have you participated in drinking experiments, sometimes referred to as wet labs?
• Have you read studies from organizations like the American Medical Association concerning
the effects of alcohol?
• Is the per se limit established by state law consistent with the study of alcohol in the field of
medicine?
• Is it higher or lower?
• If “normal faculties” are defined as the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, make judgments, drive an
automobile, etc.and do the many mental and physical acts of daily life, can alcohol,at
__________ (blood test result) impair a person’s normal faculties?

Drug

• Are you familiar with the drug __________________________?

• How are you familiar with the drug ______________________?
• Is it a controlled substance?
• Is it a drug that causes psychomotor impairment?
• Is it a substance that causes psychomotor impairment?
• What does the term psychomotor impairment mean?
• Are controlled substances and other drugs and substances divided into categories?
• What is the purpose of these categories? (signs and symptoms)
• What signs and symptoms does the drug ________________ produce in the body?
• What category does the drug or substance ________________ fall into?
• If “normal faculties” are defined as the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, make judgments, drive an
automobile, etc.and do the many mental and physical acts of daily life, can the drug
________impair a person’s normal faculties?
• Are you familiar with the term “psychoactive”?
• What does it mean?
• How long would ____ drug be “psychoactive” in a person’s system?
• Can you determine how much __________ was in the defendant’s sample?
• Does that have any impact on whether a person is impaired?
• Are safety precautions commonly included with prescriptions for the type of drug in this
sample?
• Why?
• Are you familiar with the safety precautions given with the drug in this sample?
• What precautions are given by a pharmacist to a patient who receives this drug?
• What does the term “cutoff ” mean? • Why is that important in reporting your test results?
• What is the minimum level set by the laboratory for a positive finding for this drug?
• What is the purpose of setting a minimum or cut off level for testing of this drug?

If multiple drugs in system

• What other drugs did the defendant have in his system?

• Are you familiar with the terms “additive and synergistic”?
• What does additive mean? • What does synergistic mean?
• Would the combination of the drugs in this case have an additive or synergistic effect? effect?
• How would the combination of the drugs in this sample change a person’s normal faculties?
• Do drugs of the type in this sample taken in combination have a more serious effect on the
brain?
• Do drugs of the type in this sample taken in combination cause psychomotor impairment? •
What does psychomotor impairment mean?
• Are safety precautions commonly included with prescriptions for the types of drugs in this
sample?
• Why?

https://ndaa.org/wp-content/uploads/BTL-Vol-26-No-4-Toxicologist-Witness-Edition-
CORRECT.pdf
APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY
Gas chromatography, or gas-liquid chromatography, involves using a liquid stationary phase
and a gas mobile phase. In forensics, gas chromatography is used to determine if a deceased
person has taken any alcohol or drugs prior to death, as well as determining if they had been
poisoned. This is crucial information when trying to determine how a person has died.

WHAT IS MASS SPECTROMETRY?

Mass spectrometry – an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions
and, in forensic science, one of the best ways for toxicologists to identify and analyse
substances.

In the forensic community, it’s heralded as the “gold standard” and the “near universal test” for
isolating and assessing unknown agents. As a result, its widest application is in the analysis of
drugs (including drug metabolites and drug paraphernalia).
Coupling Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry

Chromatography is only one part of an effective forensic investigation. Whilst it separates them,
it still needs a way to effectively detect and categorize the compounds. Some compounds can
be easily mistaken for other similar compounds as well.

An effective method that can be coupled with chromatography techniques is mass spectrometry.
Samples that are separated by chromatography can then be put through the spectrometer,
which separates them by size. This narrows down the range of possible substances and allows
for accurate identification of them. Both GC-MS and LC-MS techniques are established in
forensics, which can identify a wide range of compounds present in explosives, drugs, and
many others that must be identified as part of an effective investigation.

https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Chromatography-and-Forensics.aspx
https://youtu.be/bVKASwadjQY
https://www.azolifesciences.com/article/Chromatography-in-Forensic-Science.aspx
https://www.vacuumscienceworld.com/blog/mass-spectrometry-in-forensic-science
https://www.vacuumscienceworld.com/blog/mass-spectrometry-in-forensic-science