July 17, 2018By Brian Manchester

My client was charged with multiple charges relating to the death of his passenger while he was driving his 4-wheeler on a road. Here’s how I got his charges dropped:

Relevant facts

After he was questioned by the police, he was taken to a local hospital where his blood was drawn. The hospital-based blood test result was a little over .03 which is 250% BELOW the legal limit of .08 for a DUI in Pennsylvania.

The prosecutor was not pleased with this result so an expert was retained by them who did a report that my client’s blood was greater than .11 at the time of the accident. The government’s expert used a process called retrograde extrapolation. Retrograde extrapolation is a dubious scientific technique that even the foremost blood test experts in the world including A.W. Jones cautions against using.

Using Real Science To Debunk Bad Science

Compounding the bad science of retrograde extrapolation, the blood test used on my client was a hospital based enzymatic method. While hospital-based blood tests for alcohol are fine for medical purposes, they are severely inadequate and not scientifically supported in the legitimate scientific realm of experts.

These tests are subject to false positives and large uncertainty. Forensic traceability of the tests results is missing and the uncertainty in the results are huge.

Because I had previously looked into the blood testing method used on my client’s blood, as had my expert, we were prepared to take this blood test on before this incident ever happened. In fact, I lectured on the problems with hospital-based blood tests several times nationally.

Filing Motions To Exclude Evidence

So, when I was retained by my client and I identified the method used for testing his blood, I filed several motions in limine (a motion to exclude evidence) to not only attack the scientific problem of retrograde extrapolation, but also the issues with the hospital-based blood test.

The day before the hearing the government’s expert then said he could not opine on the retrograde analysis that he in two different reports said he could. The District Attorney then called me and told me he was dismissing the DUI and Vehicular Homicide While DUI Charge.

This was a great victory for my client and is proof that Pennsylvania DUI charges and even the more serious Pennsylvania Vehicular Homicide While DUI charges can be successfully defended. It can only be done with knowledge of the many different sciences used in the testing of blood as well as the laws pertaining to admission of scientific evidence. That and knowing the right experts to use.

If you are facing a Pennsylvania DUI charge or a Pennsylvania Vehicular Homicide While DUI charge call my law firm at 1-800-243-4878 for a complete and thorough analysis of your case.

Posted in: Vehicular Homicide

Tags: Anatomy, DUI, DUI Charge, Successful Dismissal Of A DUI, Vehicular Homicide,