What I Look for in a DRE Evaluation

A Drug Recognition Expert evaluation can look very convincing on paper. The report may contain a long list of observations, test results, and a final opinion identifying one or more drug categories.

My job is to look beyond the conclusion and examine how the officer got there.

A DRE evaluation is intended to follow a structured 12-step process. When I review one, I compare the officer’s report, face sheet, toxicology results, available video, and other discovery to determine whether the evaluation was properly conducted and whether the final opinion is supported by the evidence.

Some of the questions I consider include:

• Was the complete evaluation performed and documented?
• Are the officer’s observations consistent across the report, face sheet, and video?
• Were medical conditions or alternative explanations meaningfully considered?
• Were the vital signs and eye examinations properly administered and interpreted?
• Do the subject’s statements and observed behavior support the opinion?
• Does the toxicology evidence support, contradict, or fail to resolve the officer’s conclusion?
• Were multiple drug categories identified, and if so, was the interaction between those categories adequately explained?

Toxicology is also important, but a positive result does not automatically establish impairment at the time of driving. Depending on the substance, the result may identify prior use without answering when the substance was consumed or what effect it was having during the investigation.

At the same time, a negative or limited toxicology result does not necessarily resolve every question. The collection time, type of sample, substances tested for, laboratory limitations, and available quantitative information all matter.

I spent years conducting DRE evaluations and later instructing at DRE School. That experience allows me to review the evaluation from the perspective of how DREs are trained to conduct, document, and explain the process.

The question is not simply whether the officer completed a form and reached an opinion. The question is whether the work documented in the case supports that opinion.