Minnesota State Patrol
Drug Recognition Experts

STATE vs. KLAWITTER

State of Minnesota in Supreme Court, C6-93-2092, filed June 30, 1994. (Unpublished Opinion)

State of Minnesota, City of Minneapolis vs. Larry Michael Klawitter, 518 N.W. 2d 577 (1994)

"Given proper foundation and subject to other qualifications, opinion testimony by experienced police officer trained in use of so-called drug recognition protocol is generally admissible in evidence in a trial of a defendant for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance."

The court determined that the gaze nystagmus tests satisfy the requirements of "Frye."

"We agree with the trial court that the officer should be allowed to give an opinion based on the officer's training and experience and his or her observations following the 12-step drug recognition protocol, as long as (a) there is sufficient foundation for the specific opinion expressed, (b) the state does not attempt to exaggerate the officer's credentials by referring to the officer as a "Drug Recognition Expert" or to unfairly suggest that the officer's opinion is entitled to greater weight than it deserves, and ..." "We add only that it should be obvious that the mere fact that such opinion testimony is admitted does not necessarily mean that such testimony by itself will be sufficient to support a guilty verdict."

The court also determined that, outside of nystagmus, the components of a DRE examination are not scientifically new and are not subject to the "Frye" test.

The trial court stated, "...there is nothing scientifically new, novel, or controversial about any component of the DRE protocol itself. The symptomatology matrix used by DREs to reach their conclusions is not new and is generally accepted in the medical community as an accurate compilation of signs and symptoms of impairment by the various drug categories."

The prosecutor in this case was Karen Herland (City of Minneapolis).

Expert witnesses for the prosecution included: Sergeant Thomas Page, LAPD, Dr. Marcelline Burns (psychologist), Dr. David Peed (optometrist), Dr. Zenon Zuk (medical doctor), Eugene Adler (criminalist), Dr. S.J. Jejurikar (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) and Robert Meyer (toxicologist).