About Lisa Martin
MEET LISA MARTIN
Lisa Martin is a retired 20-year veteran of the Denton Police Department. She was assigned to the DWI enforcement unit for seven years. Martin is a certified Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Instructor and taught the SFST’s to multiple police academy recruit classes.
Martin has a vast knowledge of the administration of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and is considered an expert in the field. Martin administered the field sobriety tests to several thousand individuals during her career that were determined not to be intoxicated and no arrest was made.
The Field Sobriety Tests must be administered in the Standardized fashion. If the test is not administered exactly as prescribed the officer’s determination for probable cause is clearly speculative and subjective in nature. Martin will analyze video and report evidence and define all areas where the test deviates from the required standard.
Lisa Martin has earned a reputation as a leading expert in the administration of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and is highly respected for her expert testimony.
FORMAL EDUCATION
Associates Degree of Applied Science in Criminal Justice (NM-TVI 1996)
Bachelor of Science in Government with a Legal Studies Emphasis. Graduated Cum Laude (TWU-2008)
TECOLE Master Peace Officer License (2008)
FORMAL TRAINING
June 22, 1998- October 19, 1998, completed 640 hours of training at the Basic Peace Officer Academy; Tarrant County District Training Center. At the conclusion of the police academy, I was awarded a Peace Officer License in the State of Texas.
July 22, 1998, completed NCIC/TCIC Less than full access operators. Access was allowed and taught by the Texas Department of Public Safety This course allowed access to check subjects through the National and Texas crime information center, and I had continued access to this database for the entirety of my career in law enforcement.
November 05, 1998, attended Cultural Diversity training seminar at the Denton Police Academy.
February 04, 1999, certified in speed detection and basic radar usage. The certification encompassed the concepts of radar usage, including the application of the human element when determining vehicle rate of speed using radar.
February 11, 1999, attended the 24-hour Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) course and was certified as an SFST Practitioner. This course included classroom lecture as well as a wet lab. The wet lab allowed me to test my skills of administering the SFST’s to individuals that had been dosed to specific BAC levels. After administering the SFST’s to the drinking participants, the arrest/no arrest decision was made. Correct administration of the SFST’s is mandatory to pass the course.
December 14, 1999, completed 16 hours of training and was certified in Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Collision Investigation. The course taught the principles of investigating accidents involving pedestrians and automobiles at railroad crossings.
May 24, 2000, attended Intermediate Crime Scene Investigation and Cultural Diversity training at the Denton Police Academy. The course taught the principles of crime scene investigations and cultural diversity.
June 01, 2000, completed a 24-hour course in Intermediate Child Abuse Prevention and Investigation.
June 09, 2000, certified as a Breath Test Operator in the State of Texas after completing a 40-hour course learning the Texas Breath Alcohol Testing Regulations. The certification allowed me to operate the Intoxilyzer 5000 to administer breath tests to individuals arrested for specific alcohol-related crimes. All yearly requirements for re-certification on this instrument as well as the Intoxilyzer 9000 were completed keeping my certification in good standing during the entire course of my career.
June 12, 2000, completed a course in Homicide and Death Investigations at Collin County Law Enforcement Academy. This course detailed investigations that would include suspicious matters of death and investigative tools.
April 19, 2001, awarded the Basic Peace Officer License by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
October 16, 2001, completed a 40-hour course in Basic Field Training Officer Skills. As a Certified Field Training Officer, I trained new officers after graduating from the police academy. I went on to be the Field Training Officer assigned to teach every new recruit the DWI enforcement portion of their field training.
June 12, 2002, completed an 8-hour course in Combined Asset Forfeiture and Racial Profiling. The course detailed seizure of assets for specific crimes as allowed by law as well as racial profiling and the community policing response.
July 8 through July 19, 2002, attended Advanced Collision Investigation at the Texas A&M University System, Texas Engineering Extension Service of the Law Enforcement & Security Training Division. The certification allowed me to reconstruct serious bodily injury and fatality accidents. Many of the reconstructions I completed involved an intoxicated driver and some resulted in trials where I was certified an expert in the field of accident investigation.
August 06, 2002, completed Intermediate Arrest Search and Seizure. This course was taught by the Lewisville Police Academy. Topics included the 4th amendment of the Constitution and other search and seizure laws.
October 18, 2002, completed a course in VS Visual Statement Accident and Crime Scene Diagramming. This course was hosted by the Austin Police department. After completion, I was certified to use the forensic mapping equipment to reconstruct fatal and serious bodily injury accidents.
December 02, 2002, awarded the Intermediate Peace Officer License by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
April 28 through May 09, 2003, completed the Collision Reconstruction Course at the Texas A&M University System, Texas Engineering Extension Service of the Law Enforcement & Security Training Division. This course is an advanced reconstruction course with Advanced Collision Investigation being a pre-requisite to attend. The completion of this course certified me in Collision Reconstruction.
May 23, 2003, completed the 40-hour course in Forensic Mapping at Tarrant County College. The certification allowed me to utilize additional mapping equipment to aid in the reconstruction of crime scenes as well as serious bodily injury and fatality accidents.
February 09, 2004, completed an 8-hour course entitled Reducing Underage Drinking Among College-Age Individuals. This course was designed to proactively prevent underage drinking and other steps to reduce the incidents of this occurring.
May 07, 2004, completed a 40-hour course in Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement. Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators are held to a higher standard including a lower BAC of .04 if they are operating their CMV.
May 13 through 19, 2004, certified as a Basic Instructor in the State of Texas. This allowed me to teach at police academies and schools law enforcement principals and topics.
June 28, 2004, awarded the Advanced Peace Officer License by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
April 08, 2005, attended the Intoxication Manslaughter Conference in Kerrville, Texas. The conference included topics on causation of accidents, courtroom testimony, evidence collection, and preservation as well as trial preparation for officers and attorneys. We learned common and emerging trends in specimen collection as well as field sobriety review. The attendees included prosecutors, judges and law enforcement.
September 30, 2005, attended the Death Notification, Delivering the News with Compassion and Concern conference at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving National Conference in Washington DC.
June 23, 2006, completed Freeway Incident Management and 1stResponder manager course hosted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
March 26 through March 30, 2007, attended the Intoxication Manslaughter Conference in Kerrville, Texas for the second time. The conference detailed new and emerging trends into the investigation and prosecution of DWI related crashes and arrests. Attendees included law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges.
May 16 through May 19, 2007, attended the 2nd annual National Impaired Driving Conference presented by the Texas Drug and Alcohol Training Institute Law Enforcement Division.
October 05, 2007, completed the 50-hour course certifying me as a Standardized Field Sobriety Testing instructor. This allowed me to teach at police academies, schools, and other venues the concepts and principals of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and to certify people who complete the course as practitioners.
December 18, 2007, completed a DWI/DUI Detection training course hosted by the Denton County Sheriff’s Department.
April 02, 2008, completed a 16-hour course in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE). This course detailed the Standardized Field Sobriety administration to individuals that may be intoxicated on alcohol, drugs, or any combination. The completion on the course Certified me as an ARIDE Practitioner.
June 03, 2008, completed DWI/DUI Detection and Enforcement course hosted by the Denton County Sheriff’s Department.
June 24, 2008, awarded the Master Peace Officer License by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. This is the highest Peace Officer License available.
October 29, 2008, completed an 8-hour course on Effective Courtroom Demeanor and Testimony hosted by Fondren Forensics.
November 21, 2008, certified as a Special Investigator in Sexual Assault and Family Violence after completing a 24-hour course hosted by the Texas Municipal Police Association.
December 16, 2008, completed an 8-hour course in DWI/DUI Detection and Enforcement hosted by the Denton County Sheriff’s Department.
January 26 through the 30, 2009, completed training in Basic/Advanced Diagramming and Animation with Total Station. This certified me to utilize the newest and advanced forensic mapping equipment in the diagramming and reconstruction of crime scenes as well as serious bodily and fatality accidents.
February 20, 2009, updated my Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor License by completing a proficiency course.
April 08, 2009, completed a course entitled LEADRS Basic. This course taught the use of an internet-based DWI reporting system designed to streamline the DWI arrest paperwork process for law enforcement officers.
May 20, 2009, completed a 24-hour course in Writing Search Warrants hosted by the Farmers Branch Police Department.
November 11, 2009, completed 24-hours of instruction in Advanced DWI and Intoxication Manslaughter hosted by the Tarrant County College.
April 19 through the 23, 2010, completed training in Hazardous Materials Investigations, Verbal/Non-Verbal communications, Defensive Tactics, General First Aid and Firearms training hosted by the Denton Police Academy.
February 23, 2011, updated my Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor License by completing a proficiency course.
June 14, 2012, completed an 8-hour course in General Instructor Development.
July 17, 2012, completed an 8-hour course in Active Shooter Response. This course included scenarios and was taught at a closed high school to place the students into a realistic situation with a team approach response to the critical incident in an active situation.
April 10, 2013, updated my Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor License by completing a proficiency course.
June 06, 2013, attended the 6th annual Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas Leadership Academy (CLEAT). This was a 16-hour course held in Austin, Texas. The course taught the concepts and principals of leading an organization such as a police association.
October 16, 2013, attended the Patrol Tactical Seminar hosted by the Denton Police Academy.
February 21, 2014, attended an advanced DWI Detection seminar hosted by the Texas District and County Attorney’s Association.
May 02, 2014, attended the Intoxication Manslaughter Conference Heald in Galveston, Texas and hosted by the Texas District and County Attorney’s Association. The conference detailed new and emerging trends into the investigation and prosecution of DWI related crashes and arrests. Attendees included law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges.
January 21, 2015, updated my Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor License by completing a proficiency course.
October 13, 2015, completed a legal update course hosted by the Denton Police Department Training Academy.
July 21, 2016, completed a course in DWI/DUI Detection and Enforcement hosted by the Denton Police Department Training Academy.
December 01, 2016, attended a Caliber Press Street Survival seminar hosted by the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas in Waco, Texas.
March 08, 2017, updated my Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor License by completing a proficiency course.
April 10, 2017, completed and was certified in Mental Health First Aid. The course and certification trained me to provide initial help to people experiencing mental health problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and substance use disorders.
May 16, 2017, completed 8-hours of training in Pharmaceutical Crimes hosted by the St. Petersburg College for Public Safety Innovation at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas.
May 17, 2017, completed a course in Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Investigations, Advanced Investigative Techniques hosted by St. Petersburg College for Public Safety Innovation at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas.
November 28, 2017, completed the 85th Legislative Session Legal Update.
March 20, 2018, completed a course in Courtroom Demeanor and Testimony and Active Shooter response hosted by the Denton Police Department Training Academy.
May 17, 2018, completed Major Crimes Investigation hosted by the Denton Police Department Training Academy.
Qualified expert witness in the areas of:
- Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
- Standardized Field Sobriety Testing
- Accident Investigation and Collision Reconstruction
Certified TECOLE Instructor
Certified Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Instructor
Certified Breath Test Operator 2000-2018
Denton Police Officers Association Executive Board Member 2005-2015
Denton Police Department Salary Committee 2006-2018
Denton Police Department Meet and Confer member/negotiator 2006-2015
Denton County Drug Court Law Enforcement Liaison 2005-2009
Certified Visual Statement, Forensic Mapping and Advanced Diagramming with Total Station
Certified Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE)
Certified Accident Investigator
Certified Collision Reconstructionist
Taught Standardized Field Sobriety Testing to several police academies in the North Texas area
Standardized Field Sobriety Practitioner February 1999- present
Certified Breath Test Operator June 2000 through July 2018
Field Training Officer June 2001 through June 2008
Selected as a Special Enforcement Traffic Officer for the Denton Police department from June 2002 to June 2009. Assigned to the DWI Unit.
Leading DWI Enforcement Officer in Denton County 2002 – 2008
MADD National recognition award, one of 50 awards in the United States, 2005 – 2006
Denton Police Department Officer of the Year, 2007
I.O.O.F. Officer of the year, 2007
Outstanding Achievement for Legal Studies, Texas Women’s University, 2007
Leading DWI Enforcement Officer in Denton County 2008
Liaison for the Denton County Drug Court 2005-2009
Multiple letters of Recognition from the Denton County DA’s Office
Multiple letters of Recognition from the Denton Police Department
HOW TEXAS DWI EXPERT CAN HELP YOU
Expert review of all reports and video- Expert opinion of the administration and scoring of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.
- A professional report will be generated detailing all deviations from the administrative procedures and scoring.
- Expert Testimony, if needed.