Alpert
What would motivate Tarrant County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Alpert, an expert in dealing with DWI and intoxication manslaughter cases, to stop a blood draw from being sent to a certified laboratory and instead have it sent to a non-certified laboratory? Especially, in a case involving the death of a police officer, one would think the blood draw would have been sent to a certified laboratory to ensure “ no mistakes; no errors, no questions.”
THIS IS WHAT MOTIVATES HIM...
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
A Tarrant County prosecutor handling the case of the man accused in Medlin's death, said it is time for state law to be changed to make killing a police officer under these circumstances a first-degree felony. "We are going to win this war against drunk drivers, and do it in honor of officer Medlin," said Richard Alpert, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney. |
RICHARD ALPERT - PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
"After dealing with DWI and intoxication manslaughter cases for the past 10 years, I've come to assume that everyone on the road after 10 p.m. is a potential drunk driver. I know that the number of people arrested for DWI goes up 40 percent after 10 p.m., so unless it's an emergency, I try not to be on the road between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. These are random killings, and that makes it so much worse for victims' families. People who are killed by drunk drivers are victims of a horrible game of chance -- a minute here, a minute there, and the crash wouldn't have happened.
I've tried a lot of intentional murder cases, and there seems to be a deeper type of pain that is unique to DWI victims. Their loved ones were killed because someone was out having a good time. They feel that their lives have been cheapened by the random manner of their death. In my opinion, the people who kill others because they're drunk are more culpable than other killers because they're totally indifferent to the consequences of their actions and they have no respect for anyone else's life.
Drunk drivers are more selfish than the average criminal, for their pleasure is more important to them than other people's lives. They may be sorry later; they may shed tears in court -- perhaps for themselves, perhaps for the damage they have caused -- but they were too selfish to care when it mattered. Victims of drunk drivers are sacrificed on an altar of criminal indifference and it's a crime, unlike many, that's completely preventable.”
Copyright © 2006 Coalition21. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.coalition21.com/wst_page5.html
From crash scene through pretrial hearings, trial and punishment, this book is indispensable for officers and prosecutors investigating or trying an intoxication manslaughter case. Officers will find invaluable the charts and checklists for collecting information on the scene to assist with collision reconstruction and trial. Prosecutors won't be able to live without the charts and checklists for grand jury and trial preparation. Written by Richard Alpert, Intoxication Manslaughter includes caselaw, practice pointers, charts (including traffic offenses, license suspensions, discovery and probation conditions), sample pleadings and voir dire questions. Two chapters written by experts Tim Lovett (collision reconstruction) and Dr. Maurice Dennis (expert witnesses on intoxication and driving) make this book an indispensible tool for officers and prosecutors at all levels of experience.
Intoxication Manslaughter by Richard Alpert, published January 2007.