Nebraska DRE Newsletter

"The Nebraska DRE"

News for Drug Recognition Experts

Volume 7-98 July, 1998

I.A.C.P. DRE DRUGS, ALCOHOL and IMPAIRED DRIVING TRAINING CONFERENCE
June 28-30, 1998
Portland, Oregon

Scenic Portland Oregon was the setting for this years national Drug Recognition Expert conference. The state of Nebraska was well represented at the training as ten DRE's, and the State Coordinator, attended. A variety of drug and alcohol related topics were covered during the educational sessions. The days of the seminar were jam packed with information and the nights provided numerous entertainment opportunities. Conference coordinator Lt. Chuck Hayes, of the Oregon State Police, is to be congratulated for provided all of the four hundred plus attendees with a phenomenal convention.

Becky Stinson, our state DECP Coordinator, participated in the State Coordinators meeting on June 27^th. The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety is to be thanked for providing funds so the following instructors could attend:

David Anderson Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center
Darrell Fisher Nebraska State Patrol
Chuck Matson Omaha Police Department
John McGahan Lincoln Police Department
Joe Milos Bellevue Police Department
Tom Schwarten Nebraska State Patrol

Certified DRE officers Mitch Evans and Brian Ward, as well as instructor Greg Cody, of the Lincoln PD also attended the meetings. Their participation was made possible by money provided by their city's STOP program. Additional attendees from our state included Marty Conboy, for the City of Omaha's Prosecutors Office, and Jerry Smith of the Omaha Chemical Testing Lab.

Accolades should be extended to Nebraska State Trooper, and DRE instructor, Bill Dawson, who paid all of his own expenses to attend the training.

Nebraska DRE's attended the following general and breakout sessions:

Course Managers Training
Toxicologist Roundtable
Prosecutors Roundtable
DUI/SFST Validation
Principles of Drug Action
DRE/HGN Court Cases
Infectious Diseases
Innovative Teaching
DRE as a Community Resource
Prescription & OTC Medications
World of Hallucinogens
DRE & the Lab Teamwork
Understanding Nystagmus
DRE/SFST Training Issues
New Technology & Tools
What's New in the Drug World
Initiatives at NHTSA
Downside of Methamphetamine
DRE Sectional Meetings
Experts Q & A Roundtable

Many of these topics will be covered at the State Update Training this month, and in future articles of this publication.

As rigorous as the training was Portland did provided us with a little time to relax. Social events included, but were not limited to, a welcoming reception, a Multnomah Falls trip, a casino night and the Awards and Closing Ceremony.

I cannot image the organizational efforts needed to coordinate an event of this magnitude and importance. Lt. Chuck Hayes, of the Oregon State Police, provided the four hundred plus attendees with a truly exceptional educational experience. Drug Recognition Experts from the state of Nebraska are very familiar with Lt. Hayes's work in the DRE Program, as we regularly read the newsletter he edits, The Northwest Evaluator.

On behalf of all those DRE's, and related professionals, from the State of Nebraska we would like to thank Lt. Hayes for running such a phenomenal conference. We would also wish to pass along our sincere condolences to him, and his family, concerning the death of his father, who passed away during the convention.

Those we hold most dear never truly leave us...
they live on in the kindness they showed,
the comfort they shared, and the love
they brought into our lives.

See you in Minneapolis
The Fifth IACP DRE, Drugs, Alcohol and Impaired Driving Training Conference will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota next year. The dates for the convention are June 27-29, 1999. If you have never attended a DRE Training Conference I would strongly encourage traveling to this one. Not only will you able to acquire interesting, and useful information, you get to socialize with other (goal of 700) DRE's from around the world. It will be some time before we are provided an opportunity to attend an event like this within driving distance. You have the extra advantage of bringing your family and visiting such sites as the "Mall of America" during your stay.

Preparing a DRE Court Case
The following information was copied from an informational handout provided at the DRE Conference. The breakout session was entitled "What's New in DRE/HGN Court Cases". Patricia Gould of the National Traffic Law Center moderated the discussion. The panel included Mary Anderson, Deschutes OR District Attorney, Barbara Bailey, City Attorney Tacoma WA, Karen Herland, Minneapolis City Attorney, and local Defense Attorney John Henry Hingson.

Tips for Effective Report Writing

Be as detailed as possible in your narrative - cases can be tried months, even years later.
Be detailed in filling out the form regarding the divided attention tests - be as exact and descriptive as possible.
Be encouraged to "deviate from the script" of the drug influence evaluation form. Ask lots of questions and follow up: type of drugs, dose, time of use, usual dose, history of drug use, reason for drug use, source of drugs, location of drug use, how drugs taken, ect.
Write down everything the suspect says and does!

Tips for Effective Courtroom Testimony.

Be confident.
Fight back on cross examination and do not let yourself get trapped.
Be professional, pleasant, polite and responsive.
Be detailed and descriptive in your answers.
Be prepared to demonstrate the divided attention tests and HGN.
Go over your testimony in advance with the prosecutor.
Review your reports thoroughly.
Bring a penlight and a pupillometer.
Review the PDR regarding drugs involved in your case.
Review the section of your DRE school manual on the drug categories involved in your case - be prepared to write the names of unfamiliar drugs on a chart for the jury.

Additional Information: In next months issue of The Nebraska DRE more information, concerning case preparation, will be presented.

Training

DRE School
The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety is in preparatory mode for the next "Drug Evaluation and Classification Program" (DRE) school, which will be held in Lincoln. The two day Pre-School will be October 14 & 15, and the Seven Day School is set for October 21-23 & October 26-29, 1998. Certification training will be conducted every non-holiday weekend, for the remainder of the year, in Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha.

Announcements about the school have been mailed to jurisdictions through out the state. Our law enforcement friends in the western part of Nebraska will be given extra attention during the recruiting of candidates, as we look to expand the DRE program. Current DRE's are encouraged to pass along this information to your prosecutors.

SFST School
The Omaha Police Department will host a NHTSA DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) course September 10-12, 1998. This will provide desirous non-certified officers an opportunity to obtain SFST endorsement needed for DRE training. It is also a chance for those officers who may of attended SFST training years ago to be updated. Interested personnel can contact C. Matson at (402) 444-5627.

"Winning the DWI Crash Case" The Lincoln Police Department will be accommodating officers, and prosecutors, at the Legal Sciences, Inc. "Winning the DWI Crash Case", on September 2, 1998. This eight hour class in presented by the authors of the nationally-acclaimed Investigation and Prosecution of DWI and Vehicular Homicide book. The course in geared towards Prosecutors and Officers who:

want to improve their ability to successfully screen and prosecute vehicle homicide cases.
want better investigations and courtroom presentations in vehicular homicide cases.
will train, share ideas/insights, and interact as fellow students.
want to be more powerful courtroom witnesses.

Interested individuals can contact instructor Gerald Partridge at (319) 653-3000, or Sgt. Jerome Thraen, Lincoln PD, (402) 441-8982.

Cues Won't Change
A study conducted by NHTSA showed the previously determined behavioral cues are still good indicators of impaired driving behavior with at a BAC of .08. Hopefully Nebraska will soon follow the lead of several other states in decreasing the DWI threshold of .10, to the lower blood alcohol content of .08. The results of the study are published in a report, "The Detection of DWI at BAC's Below .10." For copies of the report, plus a related brochure and videotape, write: Media & Marketing Division NHTSA, NTS-21 400 Seventh St,, SW Washington, DC 20590.