I recently received a bill for testimony from a medical examiner and a chemist with DPS. Does your office typically get billed for such testimony, or it the sort of thing that is covered by their salary and a subpoena?

I have never gotten a bill from the DPS for testimony. There is a standard $140.00 analysis fee in drug cases that is required to be paid by the defendant as restitution.

I've never seen a bill from DPS other than the standard 140 testing fee.

Outlying counties have an arrangement with the Harris county ME that we pay for testimony.

[This message was edited by Dan Bradley on 02-11-03 at .]

I did not even know DPS had an ME. We have contracts with SWIFS in Dallas. We have never been billed for chemists testimony (except the aforementioned $140.00 fee).

DPS doesn't have an ME. I was referring to two different witnesses. One was an ME (from an adjoining county). The other was a DPS chemist (also from out-of-county).

Both sent bills for their testimony. I was simply wondering whether there was a law or practice of paying them. I am hearing that the ME gets paid for testifying out of county. It doesn't sound like the chemist gets paid, although out-of-pocket expenses should be reimbursed.

Given the difficulties of using a budget to pay for experts. Has anyone had any success in getting testimony from other state experts without having to pay additional testimony fees? How about accident reconstruction, for example?

We pay for all expert testimony from SWIFS/Dallas Co. Medical Examiners Office (ME, DNA, Criminalist, ETC.)These fees are in addition to any costs for the tests/autopsy themselves. I have never had to pay anything for DPS experts as long as they were still employed with DPS and have never received a bill. I have paid expenses for former DPS chemists who have been required to testify. I have never used accident reconstructionist. I have paid for other expert testimony from consulting Doctors in child abuse/death cases and for "intoxication" experts in DWI. In most of these cases, I have got the Court to sign an Order for payment of Expert Witness Fees that Comm. Court pays from the District Court budget.

SWIFS is not a law enforcement agency, but a fee for service lab. Most of our prosecutors don't know it, but we actually "pay" SWIFS through creative accounting even though it is part of Dallas County. Police departments and other counties just pay a fee.

Maybe DPS's bills are part of their 7%/13% plan to survive the budget crisis.

OK, just to update everyone on whether DPS charges for testimony. It turns out that the chemist who we subpoenaed works for a Bexar County lab, not DPS. I got a very nice phone call from the counsel for DPS who let me know that they don't charge for testimony and, in fact, there is a law that prevents such a charge.

So, there you go. Way to go DPS.