A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Testifying in DWI and Other Cases

Book excerpt: A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Testifying in DWI and Other Cases is an indispensable guide to persuading judges and juries in DWI and other trials. With more than 30 years of experience as a prosecutor, trial judge, and administrative law judge, the author has valuable insights into the factors that impact a final verdict. By interviewing thousands of jurors and presiding over more than two thousand administrative hearings, the author has compiled a list of what witnesses should and should not do. This book exposes the tricks and traps used by defense attorneys, as well as successful strategies officers can use to deal with them. Officers will learn the verbal and non-verbal methods that are most effective for enhancing credibility, and study examples of cross-examination in real cases. Points made in the sections on report writing and how to improve as a witness are essential to the officer who may be called to the witness stand repeatedly over a career. A section of the book is devoted to field sobriety testing in DWI cases. This is fertile ground for defense attorneys and special emphasis is given to the tactics they use in this area. A case is only as good as the testimony from the arresting officer. This book will help officers make the most out of every arrest. *This book grew out of an earlier one, A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Testifying in Court.