Breakout Session 5: No Refusal – Impaired Driving 2015 Traffic Safety Conference by Troy Walden, Texas A&M Transportation Institute

1. DWI
DEFENSE TACTICS
(Protection Against the Dark Arts)
Troy D. Walden, Ph.D.
Texas A&M Transportation Institute:
Center for Alcohol & Drug Education Studies

4. Direction is so much more
important than Speed.
Many are going nowhere
fast.

5. Truthvs.Perception

6. • Vigorously defend their client
• Take an adversarial position opposite of
the State
• Create reasonable doubt
Roleofthe Defense

7. Mechanism for Deconstruction
Knowledgeable about their craft...
• National College for DUI Defense
• TCDLA
• Annual Mastering Scientific Evidence Seminar
• Specialized trainings conducted by:
Former law enforcement
Former State toxicologists/chemists (breath and blood)
Social psychologists and medical doctors

8. • Driving facts
• Personal contact facts
• Field sobriety testing
– HGN, W&T, OLS
• Degree of intoxication
– Chemical Testing
FocusAreas ofAttack

9. Driving

10. PersonalContact

11. FieldSobrietyTesting

12. Degreeof Intoxication

13. Remember the defense’s role is to:
– Vigorously defend their client
– Take an adversarial position opposite of
the State
– Challenge the officers credibility and
interpretation of the facts
– Create reasonable doubt in the mind of
the jury
InConclusion