Commonwealth v. Burton - Affirming
The Commonwealth appealed the trial court’s refusal to allow the testimony of
Dr. Greg Davis as to whether or not the defendant’s behavior after the car
wreck was consistent with intoxication. The Court of Appeals, in a
to-be-published opinion, held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in
disallowing Dr. Davis’ testimony because his opinion as to the defendant’s
behavior was equivocal—the defendant’s behavior was consistent with drug use,
or trauma, or both.
The Commonwealth also sought to use the testimony of a Drug Recognition Expert
(DRE) to explain to the jury the factors it uses to determine if someone is
impaired. The COA held the trial court did not abuse its discretion
because the DRE did not personally observe the defendant nor did the DRE
subject defendant to drug recognition testing.
Margot Merrill argued the
case before the trial court and Shannon Smith briefed the case on appeal. Contributed by Jason Apollo Hart
