If the defendant admits to having consumed alcohol, these questions can help
establish that this is not evidence of impaired driving. Many people do admit to
having one or two drinks, or three beers, so it's important to establish the
timeframe involved, and the likelihood that the person was not impaired.
You approached Mr. ________ seated inside the car.
You spoke to Mr. ________.
He told you he'd been drinking.
He told you he'd had 4 beers.
You didn't ask him over what time period he drank the beers.
You would agree that the time period over which someone ingests alcohol
is important as to how it affects them, wouldn't you?
If someone had 4 beers in four hours as opposed to 4 beers in one hour,
that would be important as to the determination of whether they were under
the influence, wouldn't it?
However, in this case you did not ask any questions to determine over
what time period Mr. ______ consumed the four beers.
In your report, you said that the bottle of beer was on the floor, did
you not?
You don't know whether the bottle of beer was opened, do you?
And even if it was opened, you can't say who was consuming the contents,
can you?
It would be pure speculation on your part that the defendant consumed
that beer?
