Opinion ID: 2599109
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Reliability of the Blood SampleWas it Whole Blood?

Text: At trial, testimony was presented in support of Dachlet's position that the blood tested was not whole blood. For example, Dr. Keifer, the Elmore County Coroner at the time of the accident, testified that he first observed the remains of the body at the funeral home. He testified that approximately sixty pounds of remains were all that was left of Jason's body. In his view, the sample obtained was not whole blood because it had undergone chemical reactions due to the high degree of heat to which it was subjected. Keifer testified that he submitted the blood sample to SARMC for testing because it is the law in this state that any type of an accident like that, there has to be a blood alcohol test run on it. Keifer testified that he didn't think the sample was worth submitting because it would be irrelevant and it would not be accurate. Dennis Crouch, an expert called by Dachlet, testified that he has a background in zoology and chemistry and has worked as a chemist and a toxicologist. Crouch concluded that there were no supporting documents for the testing, no documents for chain of custody, no documents for quality control, no documents that showed the calibration of the instruments, no documentation of the duplicate samples taken, and no documentation of who performed the analysis or who reported the result. Because there was no chain of custody, it was difficult to tell how the sample was handled, stored, and how it got through the testing process. Because alcohol is not stable in whole blood, the concentration can go up or down, depending on how the sample is handled, preserved, and stored. Crouch testified that if Jason's stomach ruptured from a traumatic injury and those liquids spilled into the body's cavity, the blood could have been contaminated, resulting in a higher blood alcohol concentration. Crouch testified that he attempted to obtain the blood sample, since there are several tests that could easily be performed on the blood sample to determine if it is representative of whole blood. The fact that Lorang Beals opened the sample and smelled the blood may have contaminated the sample, as the blood was exposed to whatever microbes were in the air and the environment where the sample was opened. Crouch testified that opening the sample and smelling it was a subjective assessment of the sample that served no scientific purpose. Crouch testified that the fact that only two cc's of blood could be obtained from the heart lead him to the conclusion that there was some sort of problem. Crouch noted, Either it's no longer in the heart, or it's coagulated so that only a portion of it is in there, a small portion. Testimony was also presented on behalf of the State's argument that the blood sample was whole blood. For example, Todd Goodsell, the mortician at the time of the accident, testified that he was the person who obtained the blood sample from Jason's remains at the Summers Funeral Home. Goodsell explained that due to the condition of the body, he had to obtain blood directly from the heart. He was able to obtain a small amount of blood. Goodsell testified that the blood was very dark in color, was liquid, and was not unusual. Lorang Beals, who holds a master's degree in toxicology, testified that he obtained the blood of the decedent from SARMC and smelled the blood. According to Beals, putrified blood stinks and has a characteristic odor. He did not see any evidence of putrification. When asked how heat would affect the blood, Beals testified that the fact that the blood remained in a liquid form was very important and indicated that denaturation, coagulation from the heat, had not occurred. Additionally, the thick muscular walls of the heart most likely served to protect the heart and guard against contamination of the blood. We note that trial counsel for Dachlet could have obtained and tested the blood had it pursued the appropriate legal channels. However, as this was not done, the issue of whether or not the blood sample was whole blood ultimately became a question of credibility, dependent on which expert witnesses the jury found to be the most believable. We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted the results of the blood test.