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| Tom Hanks poses with a Drunk Fan (image courtesy of mirror.co.uk) |
ANYBODY can testify about whether somebody is legally
Intoxicated while driving...
EXCEPT an EXPERT WITNESS!
OK...this post may seem strange, but the New York Courts have ruled that Intoxication is a "familiar concept" to most people and therefore, anyone can be qualified to give their opinion about whether or not somebody was too intoxicated or impaired to drive a motor vehicle.
This ruling has been around since 1979.
HOWEVER, the fact that most people understand and know what a drunk person looks and acts like PROHIBITS the District Attorney's Office from having experts testify about whether somebody was intoxicated...
Under NY law, an expert is only allowed to give testimony about facts that CANNOT be stated or described to the jury in a such a way that would enable them to form an accurate judgment.
In other words, you can only use an expert if the subject matter is BEYOND THE REALM of most people's typical understanding...or requires some sort of scientific or professional training or experience.
Therefore, in a Drunk Driving case, anybody on the street (and the police officer) can testify about whether you looked drunk...but the prosecutor cannot call an expert to offer an opinion that you were, in fact, drunk.
BY: Attorney Mike Cyr
P: 607-229-5184
Twitter: @ithacadwi
