“DRE”, the acronym for Drug Recognition Expert, should stand for Doesn’t Really Evaluate.

This weekend I attended a DRE overview course in San Antonio, Texas. DRE stands for Drug Recognition Expert. In Harris County, Texas, the Drug recognition Expert is called in to evaluate suspects who are suspected of DWI due to alcohol, but blow a 0.00.

The DRE is called in to conduct a twelve step evaluation which consists of;

(1) a second confirmatory breath test
(2) an interview
(3) a preliminary physical examination
(4) an eye examination
(5) divided attention tests
(6) a check of vital signs ,including pulse and blood pressure
(7) a dark room evaluation where the pupils reaction to light is measured
(8) a muscle tone assessment
(9)an injection site assessment
(10)an interrogation where they ask the suspect what drugs they are taking
(11) toxicology via a urine sample, and finally
(12) the officer’s opinion.

The major flaw in the DRE evaluation is the tenth step. This is the step where the officer asks the suspect what drugs they have taken. This is done just before the officer offers his opinion on what classification of drugs he believes the suspect is under the influence of.

Dr. Fran Gengo, a professor of Pharmacology and Neurology broke down the government’s validation studies, many of which are in the form of government reports rather than peer reviewed scientific journal articles. One important study which was peer reviewed, revealed that when officer’s were not allowed to ask the suspect what drugs they had taken, their ability to correctly identify the proper category of drug was less than 50%. That means that they could have flipped a coin and been more accurate in their decisions.


If you were arrested for driving while intoxicated by drugs in Houston, Harris County, Texas, call us at 713-236-8744. We look forward to helping you.

Our most recent case results

ü  State of Texas VS Delmas: Client turned right from a left turn lane. The State offered probation but we set the case for jury trial. After thoroughly investigating the traffic stop, we convinced the State to dismiss the case before the jury was selected.

ü  State of Texas VS Shabi:  Mr. Shabi was pulled over for an illegal U-turn after leaving the Whiskey River bar. Officer’s from the DWI task force alleged that he failed all sobriety tests. Client blew a .10 on the Intoxilizer 5000. This case was dismissed two days before we were set for trial. 1/11/2011

ü  State of Texas VS Lerma: Client hired an attorney who is known for pleading all of his clients. After numerous settings, he felt the attorney was not doing his job. He hired Mr. Butler to take over his case. Mr. Butler appeared on his behalf, and was able to negotiate a dismissal of all charges on the first setting.

ü  State of Texas VS Cravens: Client blew a .21 on the Intoxilyzer 5000. Case was set for Trial. The case was dismissed at pre trial hearing on 2/22/2011. We were able to pull medical records and introduce reasons why the breath test could have been wrong.

ü  State of Texas VS Ruben: Client was pulled over after an officer witnessed him purchasing alcohol & placing it in the front seat. A DWI Task Force officer was called to perform FST’s. After providing a breath sample, he was arrested for DWI. First court date was 1/27/2011, Mr. Butler did a Motion to Suppress the traffic stop. Client’s case was dismissed 3/29/2011.

ü  State of Texas VS Chanaba: Client was leaving Twin Peaks restaurant, he was speeding , going  75 in a 65 mph zone. He failed FST’s at the scene and refused to provide a breath specimen. We set this case for trial.  The Case was dismissed the day of Trial. 5/17/2011.

ü  State of Texas VS Penaflor: Client’s car broke down on the highway. When an officer arrived on the scene, she alleged he was backing up on the Beltway. The client provided a breath sample of .113.  This case was dismissed the day before trial on 7/5/2011.

ü  State of Texas VS Fredricks: Client was found asleep in his car which was parked on a bridge crossing Braes Bayou in Meyerland, facing the wrong way on a one way street. The Client blew a .079. However, he voluntarily gave a blood specimen which showed recent consumption of opiates and  marijuana. The case was dismissed before the trial date. 7/18/2011.

ü  State of Texas VS Duncan: Client was facing a 2^nd DWI charge. He hit an off duty police officer from behind. Inside his vehicle, officers found un-prescribed Xanax, and an open container of alcohol. This was a Blood test case that we set for Trial.  DWI 2^nd dismissed the day of Trial.  8/9/2011.

ü State of Texas VS Malchow:  Not Guilty after jury trial. Client was pulled over for speeding, 65 in a 35 mph. zone. He admitted to drinking 7 beers at a sports bar. He failed the sobriety tests both at the scene, and at the HPD “intox room”. Client was acquitted after a 3 day jury trial. 9/1/2011

ü State of Texas VS Ine: Client blew a 0.13 after being stopped for speeding 60 in a 35. Client failed all FST tests. Case was set for Trial. Mr. Butler filed a motion for dismissal based on a prolonged detention. This case was dismissed the day before Trial. 9/19/2011