FIELD SOBRIETY EXERCISES
SUMMARY: Based on State v. Meador, 674 So.2d 826 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) the State's testimony of Field Sobriety Exercises is limited to lay witness testimony.
DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERT FOUNDATION
SUMMARY: A Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) is someone who can testify what kind of substance someone is under the influence of. DREs should only be allowed to testify as experts if they follow the proper DRE procedure. If the procedure is not followed the science used to recognize the substance someone is under the influence of is not presumed to be reliable.
EXCITED UTTERANCE
SUMMARY: in order for an excited utterance to be admissible, the following requirements must be met: (1) there must have been an event startling enough to cause nervous excitement; (2) the statement must have been made before there was time to contrive or misrepresent; and (3) the statement must have been made while the person was under the stress of excitement caused by the startling event.
