E. Martin Knepper, Esquire, a partner in the Wilmington and Dover, Delaware law firm of Knepper & Stratton, attended a day long seminar on April 4, 2008, entitled “A Lawyers Guide to DUI: Practical Tips and Ethical Considerations for DUI Cases”. The seminar was moderated by the Honorable Alex J. Smalls, Chief Judge, Court of Common Pleas of the State of Delaware who along with the Honorable William C. Carpenter, Jr., presented an overview of court procedures in DUI cases and a digest of last year’s Delaware DUI case law.
The seminar dealt with many other topics, including the NHTSA certified Field Sobriety Tests, newer NHTSA certifed, so-called, Drug Recognition Experts (DRE), overview of breath testing equipment in use in Delaware, ethical considerations in defense of drunk driving or driving under the influence (DUI) cases, the prosecutor’s perspective and techniques and arguments to use in the defense of drunk driving (DUI) and driving under the influence of drug cases.
Cpl. James Rossi, of the Delaware State Police demonstrated the proper procedures for administering the four NHSTA certified Field Sobriety Tests, which are:
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN);
One leg stand;
Walk and turn; and
Finger to nose.
The Delaware State Chemist, David Sockrider, demonstrated the workings of the CMI Intoxilyzer and the Portable Breath Testing equipment, used by almost all police departments in the State of Delaware for breath testing purposes.
Deputy Attorney General Sean Lugg, of the Delaware Department of Justice, presented the prosecutor’s perspective in DUI, Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide cases.
