Comments on Intoxication Test Evidence (2nd Ed.)
and on Mr. Fitzgerald's work

-John A. Tarantino, Esquire, review in Trial
Adler, Pollock & Sheehan, Providence, RI
Author of numerous books and articles on DUI related matters

"Ed Fitzgerald's two-volume masterpiece is one of the scientific cornerstones of my drunk driving defense library. As a history major turned defense lawyer, I would be lost without the invaluable easy-to-follow explanations of complex scientific principles found in this treatise."

-William C. Head, Esquire
Law Offices of William C. Head, Atlanta, GA
Trial lawyer and author of
The Georgia DUI Defense Trial Practice Manual

"Ed Fitzgerald's Intoxication Test Evidence, 2nd Edition, is a first-rate two-volume text that effectively integrates science and the law…This classic text would be a valuable addition to the libraries of any attorneys or expert witnesses involved in alcohol-based cases."

-Dominick A. Labianca, Ph. D.
Professor of Chemistry, Brooklyn College of CUNY
Author of numerous peer journal articles; regular contributor to Intoxication Test Evidence (2nd Ed.)

"Ed Fitzgerald is truly a leader in the legal world of scientific evidence. I have had the good fortune of reading many of his articles and hearing many of his lectures…[he] has the unique ability to write and lecture with such clarity that even judges understand him…[he has] a keen ability to identify issues that would generally go unnoticed to less skilled lawyers…the persuasive ability in arguing the law and facts to win those stealth-type issues…[he] is not only a lawyer's lawyer, but also, he is a teacher's teacher."

-J. Gary Trichter, Esquire
Trichter & Samuelson, P.C., Houston, TX Trial lawyer and author of Texas Drunk Driving Law (2nd Ed.)

"This legal reference covers in detail evidence used in trials to determine blood alcohol (ethanol) concentrations… The author illustrates through actual testimony the different avenues to attack breath evidence…The author identifies potential problem areas in the laboratory…identifying specific areas where serious errors can be made in the interpretation of blood alcohol concentration…[he] illustrates this with several high profile cases…Anyone involved in forensic alcohol analysis should be aware of these volumes…For the laboratory scientist actively involved in blood alcohol testing and litigation, these volumes are an appropriate addition to a professional library."

-R. Thomas Chamberlain, review in Clinical Chemistry

"Finally, Edward Fitzgerald, a lawyer in Massachusetts, and Dr. David Hume, a professor of analytical chemistry at M.I.T., write that there are "serious questions about the reliability of any later single test as an indicator of an earlier BAC." (cite) They explain that most extrapolations are based on certain assumptions which simply are not true, including the assumption that a person's BAC will decline once drinking has stopped. In fact, they say, in most DWI cases, the person is arrested shortly after his last drink. (cite) His stomach has not yet absorbed all the alcohol, and his BAC will continue to rise for some time after arrest, resulting in a tested BAC which is higher than what it was at the time of the driving...They conclude that the attempt to engage in retrograde extrapolation is "fraught with difficulties." (Cite)

-From the majority opinion in State of Texas v. Mata, No. 133-00, 2001 Tex. Crim. App. Lexis 45, June 6, 2001, citing E.F. Fitzgerald, D.N. Hume, "The Single Chemical Test For Intoxication: A Challenge To Admissibility," Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 66, No. 1, 1981.
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"Ed Fitzgerald's book, Intoxication Test Evidence (2nd Ed.), is an invaluable source on the ever-changing and developing science of blood and breath-testing for alcohol. It is full of helpful suggestions for the proper identification and handling of important issues, and it is an excellent source for the preparation and presentation of the scientific issues in court. As a consultant to attorneys with tough cases, particularly those involving hospital and laboratory records and reports, Ed Fitzgerald's knowledge, experience, insights and suggestions might well mean the difference between victory and defeat."

-Ed Kuwatch, Esquire
Kuwatch Law Offices, Willits, CA
Noted DUI lawyer and author of California Drunk Driving Law

"As…Fitzgerald and …Hume explained in their 1981 article: A relatively high BAC value reflected in a single test (i.e., a 0.15%) would be strong evidence of the guilt of the defendant if it were known that both the offense and the sample occurred after the peak BAC had been obtained. The same BAC value, however, would be strong evidence of the innocence of the defendant if it were known that during the hour following arrest, or most of it, the BAC continued to rise from a low or relatively exculpatory level to the value later reflected by test. Since either value (the higher prohibited value or the lower exculpatory value) would be equally consistent with the result of the later single test, it's admission as presumptive proof of intoxication at the time of the offense is clearly unsupportable."

Mireles v. Texas Department of Public Safety, an en banc decision of the Texas Court of Appeals, November 3, 1998, citing E.F. Fitzgerald, D.N. Hume, "The Single Chemical Test For Intoxication: A Challenge To Admissibility," Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 66, No. 1, 1981.
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