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Intoxication Test Evidence
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
EDWARD F. FITZGERALD, J.D.

Click here to view Mr. Fitzgerald's
Curriculum Vitae


Mr. Fitzgerald, a long time member of the Massachusetts Bar and of the Federal District Courts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1980. He practiced as a criminal and civil trial lawyer for more than 25 years, and his cases covered a broad range of civil and criminal matters.

After the publication of his first article (1981) on the problems of the single test for intoxication, he was admitted to practice as trial counsel "Pro Hac Vice" in accident and death cases in other states as well (Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Indiana), and he has also acted as a consultant on the trial presentation of alcohol issues for trial attorneys in at least sixteen states. His practice now and for a number of years has been limited to legal writing and consulting with civil and criminal trial attorneys in cases involving alcohol test issues, on the effective presentation of expert evidence, and on the effective direct and cross examination of expert witnesses (in alcohol test cases and in other cases where the presentation of complex expert testimony is at issue).

Mr. Fitzgerald is the author of the two-volume textbook, Intoxication Test Evidence (Second Edition), 1995, a WEST publication. This book was originally co-authored by Mr. Fitzgerald and Dr. David Hume, Professor of Chemistry at M.I.T. (now deceased). It was published as a single volume in 1987, and has since then been annually supplemented by Mr. Fitzgerald, and was revised and expanded to a two-volume set in 1995. In writing and supplementing the book, and in the course of his consulting work, Mr. Fitzgerald has had the privilege of working with many scientists who have contributed directly and indirectly to the materials in the book, including Dr. Dominick A. Labianca, Chairman of the Department of Chemistry, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York who is a regular contributor to the text. The book is not the more typical (and valuable) "defense of drunk driving" textbook; rather, this text is designed and intended for the use of all parties to litigation, both prosecutors and defendants, and both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases. The text is also intended for and is used by experts testifying in the field.

Mr. Fitzgerald has also authored or co-authored numerous articles published in legal and scientific journals, including, with Dr. Hume, by invitation, the "Cover article" for the Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 57, No.8 (July 1985). To see full text of this article in PDF format—CLICK HERE. (File size is 665k). After viewing the article click the "Back" button to return to this page.

Also with Dr. Hume, he co-authored an article in the Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 66, No. 1, 1981 (considered the seminal article on the problems of retrograde extrapolation and the erroneous interpretation of single test results). The latter article has been re-published in full in a number of textbooks and has been cited by the courts in cases having a major impact on the DUI law and practice in a number of states (for example, it has been cited and relied upon in an en banc decision on November 2, 1998 by the Texas Court of Appeals, in Mireles v. DPS, and, again, most recently on June 6, 2001 by the Texas Court of Appeals in State of Texas v. Mata). To see full text of that article in PDF format— CLICK HERE. (File size is 1162k). After viewing the article click the "Back" button to return to this page.

Mr. Fitzgerald has lectured extensively on trial techniques and the presentation of expert evidence in civil and criminal cases, and has participated in seminars in more than fifteen states. He has lectured to medical groups and civic organizations and taught a course in practical law for the layman. He has been a lecturer in Continuing Legal Education programs on alcohol test matters and also on trial tactics and strategy for attorneys in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Louisiana and other states, and he has had the honor to be an invited lecturer on DUI law and science before the Massachusetts Judicial Conference.

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME: Edward F. Fitzgerald, J.D.
ADDRESS: 

3233 East Dover Street, Mesa, AZ  85213 6956
(480) 699 9334
ed@edwardffitzgerald.com

PRESENT
OCCUPATION:		 Legal Writer And Consultant to Trial Attorneys on Alcohol Related Cases, Civil and Criminal

PREVIOUS
OCCUPATION:

Trial Attorney, Civil & Criminal Litigation
 

Admitted to Practice:

Massachusetts Bar, 1965
Federal District Court Massachusetts, 1966
Federal District Court, Rhode Island, 1978
United States Supreme Court, 1980

Admitted to Practice  "Pro Hac Vice" (Alcohol Cases)

Superior Court, Pennsylvania, 1984
Superior Court, Indiana, 1985
Superior Court, Rhode Island, 1987
EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, 1965 Boston University School of Law
Undergraduate studies at Boston University and American University, Washington, D. C.

MILITARY
SERVICE: 

 U.S. Army, 10th Special Forces

PROFESSIONAL
EMPLOYMENT:

2000—, Legal Writer & Consultant, Mesa, AZ

1987—2000, Legal Writer and Consultant in MA

1976 to 1987, Trial Attorney & Textbook Author, Law Offices of Edward F. Fitzgerald, Bridgewater, MA (Formerly, East Bridgewater, MA).

1972 to 1976 Trial Attorney, General Practitioner, Twomey & Fitzgerald, Boston, MA

1968 to 1972, Trial Attorney, General Practitioner, Callas, Felopulos & Ditelberg, Boston, MA

1965 to 1968, Trial Attorney, General Practitioner, Law Offices of Poitrast, Carney & Moore, Boston, MA
PUBLICATIONS: (Authored & Co-Authored)
Books

E.F. Fitzgerald, Intoxication Test Evidence (2ND Edition), (Two volumes), A West Group publication, © 2001 (Annually supplemented). Original published in one-volume in 1987, co-authored with David N. Hume, Ph. D., Professor of analytical chemistry, M.I.T. (now deceased).
— For further information about this two volume set click HERE.
Articles

E.F. Fitzgerald, "Comments On The Use Of Mathematics In Cross Examining Prosecution Experts, " DWI Journal, Law & Science, Vol. 4, No. 10, October, 1989.

E.F. Fitzgerald, "The Pre-Expert Evaluation Of Your Client's BAC Test Result: Some Truly Simple Mathematics, " DWI Journal, Law & Science, Vol. 4, No. 9, September, 1989 (lead article).

E.F. Fitzgerald, "Attorney's Initial Office Evaluation Of BAC Test Result,” DWI Journal, Law & Science Vol. 4, No. 8, August, 1989 (lead article).

E.F. Fitzgerald, "A Major Source Of Error In Blood Alcohol Cases: Laboratory Reporting Of Plasma And Serum Values As Whole Blood Values," DWI Journal Law & Science, Vol. 2, No. 6, June, 1987 (lead article).

E.F. Fitzgerald, D.N. Hume, "Chemical Tests For Intoxication: What do The Numbers Really Mean?" Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 57, No. 8, July 1985 (Cover Article).
    — To view the full text of this article in the Acrobat PDF format CLICK HERE (file size is 665k). After viewing the article click the "Back" button to return to this page.

E.F. Fitzgerald, D.N. Hume, "Erroneous Expert Opinions in The Civil And Criminal Trial Of Intoxication Cases: Widmark Revisited, " Vermont Bar Journal And Law Digest [Special Edition], July, 1983.
     — This article was reprinted in full by permission in several textbooks and journals, including The Champion; Vol. VII, No. 10, December, 1983, p.6. To view the full text of this article in the Acrobat PDF format CLICK HERE (file size is 1168k). After viewing the article click the "Back" button to return to this page.

E.F. Fitzgerald, D.N. Hume, "The Single Chemical Test For Intoxication: A Challenge To Admissibility, " Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 66, No. 1, 1981.
     — This article was reprinted in full by permission in several textbooks and journals, including The Champion, and has been frequently cited; the original Massachusetts Law Review reprint may be viewed in the Acrobat PDF format. CLICK HERE (file size is 1162k). After viewing the article click the "Back" button to return to this page.

Seminars And Professional Presentations

Mr. Fitzgerald has lectured extensively before professional organizations and bar associations. In Massachusetts, he has lectured on trial preparation and tactics for MCLE (Mass. Continuing Legal Education) in programs for trial attorneys, general practitioners, public defenders and young lawyers, as well as serving as a faculty member for an intensive summer program on trial advocacy for young attorneys (acting as advisor to students in improving personal presentation of direct and cross examination). He has also lectured for MCLE on programs specifically concerned with the presentation of alcohol-test evidence under law and procedure in Massachusetts.

Beginning in 1981, and to date, Mr. Fitzgerald has also been an invited speaker and principal lecturer on the subject of the proper interpretation of intoxication test evidence in a number of other states, including Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Ohio, Florida, California, Louisiana and Colorado. He has participated in full-day seminars with extensive trial demonstration programs on the proper interpretation of intoxication tests and on the effective presentation of alcohol experts, and he has been a lecturer and panel participant on numerous occasions for two of the leading educational programs for DUI lawyers in this country; namely, for the programs entitled, “Mastering Scientific Evidence in DUI/DWI Cases,” and at the annual three-day summer program usually conducted at Harvard University by the National College For DUI Defense (NCDD).

Other Examples:

Full day seminars with trial demonstrations by Dr. Hume and Mr. Fitzgerald, 1981-1984, in Burlington, Vermont, Portland, Maine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hartford, Connecticut, Boulder, Colorado and Orlando and Miami, Florida.

Full day seminars with trial demonstrations by Mr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Hume for The New Jersey Institute For Continuing Legal Education (1984); for Continuing Legal Education in Colorado, Inc. (1984); and for Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio (1984).

Participation by Mr. Fitzgerald as a faculty member and lecturer at the Third National Seminar on DWI Defense, Orlando, Florida (1988).

Participation by Mr. Fitzgerald as invited faculty on the present state of intoxication test evidence at the District Court Judges' Continuing Legal Education Conference (Summer, 1988).

Participation by Mr. Fitzgerald as the invited speaker on the effective qualification of the expert witness before the California Deuce Defenders Association, San Francisco, CA (Feb 1992).

Participation by Mr. Fitzgerald as featured speaker and panelist for seminar: "Gearing Up For DOT Alcohol Testing, " sponsored by the Occupational Health Services Department of Morton Hospital & Medical Center, MA (December, 1994).

Participation by Mr. Fitzgerald as invited faculty in numerous CLE seminars in Massachusetts on "driving under” law, trial presentation, and legislative changes, and as a lecturer on trial tactics and trial preparation in both civil and criminal cases.

Presentation by Mr. Fitzgerald of numerous lectures on alcohol tests and social drinking at colleges, schools and before civic and other private organizations.

 

Formerly of Boston and Bridgewater, Massachusetts

3233 E. Dover Street • Mesa, Arizona 85213-6956
Phone: (480) 699 9334 • ed@edwardffitzgerald.com

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