If your situation involved a motor vehicle accident, your attorney may recommend that you hire an accident reconstruction specialist. Such a witness will typically be most valuable to your case at the earliest possible date after the collision in order to document and measure any skid marks, existing obstructions of your view (such as hedges at an intersection) etc. An accident reconstruction specialist will almost always have either police or engineering training (or both) that allows him or her to look at the report of your accident and apply engineering standards and other scientific principles (i.e., physics) to reconstruct or recreate what likely caused the accident.
These reconstruction experts may even be able to determine who was “at fault,” and other critical details such as the speed of the vehicles at the time of the accident, the braking pattern of all vehicles, or even identify the relative positions of passengers inside the vehicles prior to the collision. Sometimes these details make the difference between a guilty verdict and an acquittal, or a reduction from a felony vehicular homicide charge to a misdemeanor offense.
Your DUI-DWI attorney may suggest the use of a specific accident reconstruction specialist due to a number of factors. The attorney’s recommendation may be based on who is best for your particular type of accident, or possibly based upon who might have the best courtroom presence at your trial, or who has the best credentials. With experienced legal counsel, the choice of an expert on reconstruction ultimately might be determined by evaluating who best counters the proposed experts that the State has indicated that it will call upon to testify against you.
February 24, 2009
Georgia Accident Reconstruction Specialists
February 2, 2009
DUI/DWI Private Investigators
An expereinced DUI defense attorney will most likely use a private investigator for your case. This typically involves an additional cost for you, but these professionals can be worth their weight in gold. Such investigators often are retired law enforcement officers who have good contacts with the local police officers who are still on the job and they know how the other side thinks and operates. Most of the best DUI/DWI trial lawyers across America use one or more private investigators, where the investigator’s input or investigation could be vital to finding a way to win.
Private investigators also know how to evaluate the scene of your stop (the roadway location) for problems with the fairness of your field sobriety evaluations. An investigator might be able to uncover other discrepancies in the police report (or the video records) and may help
explain to the judge or jury some “problem” with your balance (that occurred during field testing on the roadside video made by the officer) in order to help sway the ultimate “fact finder” (jury or judge) to enter a “not guilty” verdict.
If your experienced DUI/DWI attorney recommends the hiring of a private investigator for your case, it is because your attorney is looking after your best interest, not just wanting to spend your money. Many times, the input of the private investigator can help uncover a “smoking gun” in the arresting officer’s reports or in his or her prior disciplinary history. Other times, this investigator can provide the winning evidence in your DUI/DWI trial by testifying about the arresting officer’s violation of training or breat testing protocol.
