U.S. Capitol building

Trial Transcript: Initial Observations/Probable Cause to Arrest in DUI Case

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

Q:  You testified that my client stumbled as he got out of the car that night. A:  That’s right. Q:  What do you mean by “stumbled?” A:  I don’t know.  He stumbled. Q:  Did he fall? A:  No.  He kind of swayed.  And he put his hand on the car for support. Q:  This was as he was getting out …

D.C. skyline

The “Collective Knowledge” Doctrine in D.C.

Jamison Koehler Evidence, Opinions/Cases

  The firmly established “collective knowledge” doctrine in D.C. provides that, in determining whether the officers possessed sufficient knowledge to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a search or seizure, it is not what any individual officer knows but what the officers know collectively, whether or not the information is actually communicated from one officer to another. At the …