Defense attorneys in town say they have grounds for dismissing hundreds of cases.
One of those attorneys, Jamie Balagia, says it all has to do with the recent health developments of an expert witness the county uses, "I believe what they should do is throw out every test that he was involved in.”
The Bexar County District Attorney's office admits one of their contracted experts, George McDougall, has a mild case of dementia.
McDougall worked with Bexar County for more than 20 years, running the breathalyzer program. His duties included calibrating the breathalyzer machines and testifying in court. But now, his believability is being questioned.
Jamie Balagia routinely questions the accuracy of breathalyzer tests in court. But more recently, he's had major concerns about long-time expert witness, George McDougall.
"No one wants anyone to have health issues. And we certainly step out and hope he recovers from what he's undergoing,” Balagia told us. “But I understand it's related to memory loss."
Balagia believes county officials knew McDougall was having problems more than six months ago, but failed to notify the San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney's Association until recently.
"He has no memory of even performing the duty. He has no memory of writing the notes. Yet, they're convicting individuals in San Antonio,” Balagia stated.
The district attorney's office is calling the 67-year-old's mild case of dementia a result of old age.
"He had always documented his work and what he was doing, by law. And he had other associates that were working with him. And so, at this point, we have found no reason to be concerned about his health condition," Cliff Herberg, Assistant District Attorney, explained.
Several defense attorneys are already filing motions, asking that their cases be thrown out because of McDougall’s involvement; however, at this time, no judge has ruled in their favor.
"A defense lawyer’s job is to represent their client to the best of their abilities and so they're going to raise everything they can,” Herberg added.
We did reach out to the McDougall family to get their take on the issues being raised, but haven't heard back him or his family.
