Opinion ID: 1846967
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: DRE Protocol

Text: The DRE program is a nationally standardized protocol for identifying drug intoxication based upon a program first designed by the Los Angeles Police Department. The protocol is designed to identify seven different categories of drugs and the physical symptoms associated with each category. For example, the behavioral symptoms associated with marijuana intoxication are impaired attention, impaired attention spans, forgetting to do things, forgetting [things] in mid-sentence . . .; inappropriate euphoria, such as laughing or smiling during an incident that's fairly serious; an impaired ability to divide attention, to do more than one thing at the same time, maybe concentrating on colors or lights rather than the overall environment. Symptoms also include bloodshot eyes; an elevated heart rate; and sometimes, body tremors. Under the DRE protocol, officers are trained in a step-by-step procedure to examine various clinical or physiological indicators to determine what drugs a suspect might have used. A field DRE examination generally involves making three determinations: first, that a person is impaired and that the impairment is not consistent with alcohol intoxication; second, the ruling in or out of medical conditions that could be responsible for the signs and symptoms; and third, what type of drug is responsible for the impairment. The process is systematic and standardized. A DRE officer uses a face sheet to record his or her observationsa standardized form with prepared entries for the various tests and observations the officer must perform. The process begins with a breath alcohol test; then, if the DRE officer is not the arresting officer, the DRE officer interviews the arresting officer about the circumstances of the arrest and the suspect's behavior. The DRE officer then conducts the preliminary examination. The DRE officer checks the suspect's pulse, does an initial check of the nystagmus (involuntary jerking movements) of the eyes, and checks the suspect's pupil size. And a series of medical questions is typically asked. Assuming that the suspect appears to be under the influence of drugs and no medical condition is present, the DRE officer proceeds to conduct an eye examination. The officer administers horizontal and vertical gaze nystagmus tests in each eye, and checks for a lack of convergence, or the eye's ability to converge on an object approaching the face. The next step is to conduct the divided attention tests, composed of four different tests that are similar to familiar field sobriety tests. The suspect is asked to estimate a period of time while balancing in a particular way, perform a walk-and-turn or walk-the-line test, perform a one-leg stand test, and perform a finger-to-nose test. The DRE officer then conducts a vital signs examination. The officer rechecks the suspect's pulse and measures the suspect's body temperature and blood pressure. Then the officer conducts a dark room examination, during which the suspect's pupils are examined under different light conditions. After that, the officer uses a penlight to examine the suspect's mouth and nose for debris, drugs, or physiological changes that can take place with repeated drug use. The next step is a check for muscle tonethe officer evaluates the suspect's voluntary muscles to see if they are abnormally rigid or flaccid. The officer then checks for injection sites and takes the suspect's pulse again. Finally, the examination concludes with an interview of the suspect. When the examination is concluded, the DRE officer forms an opinion based on his or her observations. Then, the final step in the process is the use of toxicology to analyze samples taken from the suspect for the presence of drugs. In other words, the underlying principles of the DRE protocol are basic and familiar: gather information from the suspect and measure fundamental physical symptoms and then derive a conclusion about drug or alcohol intoxication from that data. Dr. Zenon Zuk testified for the State that the DRE protocol is based on the well-established concept that drugs cause observable signs and symptoms, affecting vital signs and changing the physiology of the body. A 1984 study, conducted by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, concluded that under laboratory conditions, the DRE protocol showed a high degree of accuracy in correctly identifying the drug classes which had been administered to those subjects judged to be intoxicated. Of subjects judged to be intoxicated the correct drug class was identified on 91.7% of occasions. Overall, in 98.7% of instances of judged intoxication the subject had received some active drug. On 7% of occasions of judged intoxication the incorrect drug class was identified, and on 1.3% of occasions the subject had received no active drug. . . . A field study conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that when DRE's claimed drugs other than alcohol were present, they were detected in blood tests 94 percent of the time. A study performed by the State of Minnesota from 1991 to 1993 found that at least one DRE-predicted drug category was present in 84.5 percent of cases and that the protocol for detecting cannabis intoxication was the most reliable, corroborated by toxicology in 91.8 percent of cases. And a 1994 study performed by the State of Arizona found that DRE decisions were highly accurate and that the DRE program, supported by the toxicology laboratory, was a valid method for detecting and classifying drug-impaired individuals. Based largely on that data, every court to have considered the issue has concluded that testimony based upon the DRE protocol is admissible into evidence. [7] In Nebraska, our analysis of the issue is governed by the principles announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc ., and adopted by this court in Schafersman v. Agland Coop . [8] Under our Daubert/Schafersman jurisprudence, the trial court acts as a gatekeeper to ensure the evidentiary relevance and reliability of an expert's opinion. This gatekeeping function entails a preliminary assessment whether the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is valid and whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue. [9] In determining the admissibility of an expert's testimony, a trial judge may consider several more specific factors that might bear on a judge's gatekeeping determination. These factors include whether a theory or technique can be (and has been) tested; whether it has been subjected to peer review and publication; whether, in respect to a particular technique, there is a high known or potential rate of error; whether there are standards controlling the technique's operation; and whether the theory or technique enjoys general acceptance within a relevant scientific community. These factors are, however, neither exclusive nor binding; different factors may prove more significant in different cases, and additional factors may prove relevant under particular circumstances. [10]