Choosing an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist for Your DWI or Drug Charge

At Deandra Grant Law, Managing Partner Deandra Grant doesn’t just hold the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation. She helps teach the courses required to earn it and administers and grades the Lawyer-Scientist exam. She is an instructor at Axion Analytical Labs in Chicago, where the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist courses are conducted. The attorneys who earn this credential learn from her. In addition she chairs the DUI Defense Lawyers Association’s national Board Certification program, where she assembles, edits, administers, and assists in grading the national board certification exam for DUI defense attorneys.

There is a fundamental difference between an attorney who completed a course and an attorney who teaches that course. When you hire Deandra Grant, you are hiring the instructor, not a former student.

A Scientist Who Practices Law — Not a Lawyer Who Took a Course

Deandra Grant’s scientific credentials are not a single line on a resume. They represent years of graduate education, active faculty positions, and membership in the scientific organizations that define forensic science as a discipline:

Graduate Degrees and Certificates

• Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science (Forensic Science Concentration) — University of Florida College of Pharmacy, 2016. Years of graduate-level study in drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and pharmacodynamics.
• Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology — University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Focused training in the analysis of drugs and poisons in biological specimens.

Chair, DUIDLA Board Certification Program

Deandra Grant serves as the Chair of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association’s Board Certification program which is the national board certification specifically for DUI/DWI defense attorneys. In this role, she assembles the certification examination, edits it, administers it, and assists in grading it.

The DUIDLA Board Certification exam tests advanced knowledge in areas including U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting DUI/DWI law, the pharmacology of alcohol and drugs (pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics), retrograde extrapolation analysis, standardized field sobriety tests, breath and blood testing science, and ethical considerations in DUI/DWI practice. The exam is developed by attorneys and scientific experts from the United States and Canada.

This role means that Deandra Grant does not merely meet the standards for DUI defense expertise. She helps define those standards for the profession. She helps decides what DUI defense attorneys need to know to earn national board certification. Combined with her role as an instructor for the ACS-CHAL courses at Axion Labs, she occupies a unique position in American DUI defense: she trains the attorneys who earn the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation and she sets the bar for national board certification in DUI defense law.

Faculty Positions

• Instructor, Axion Analytical Labs / American Chemical Society — Since 2019, Deandra Grant has served on the faculty at Axion Analytical Labs in Chicago, where she teaches the hands-on forensic chromatography and drug analysis courses required for the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation. She also administers and grades the proficiency examination that candidates must pass to earn the credential. The attorneys who hold this designation were trained and tested by her.
• Faculty, Robert F. Borkenstein Drug Course, Indiana University Bloomington — Since 2018, Grant has served on the faculty of the Borkenstein Drug Course, one of the most respected impaired driving courses in the world. Founded by the inventor of the Breathalyzer, the Borkenstein Course brings together scientists, law enforcement, prosecutors, and defense attorneys for intensive training on the pharmacology and toxicology of drugs that affect driving.

Scientific Society Memberships

Deandra Grant is not merely a lawyer with scientific training. She is an active member of the scientific community itself:

• American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) — The premier professional organization for forensic scientists in the United States, encompassing disciplines from toxicology to digital evidence to jurisprudence
• American Chemical Society (ACS) — The world’s largest scientific society, chartered by Congress, with over 180,000 members worldwide
• Society of Toxicology (SOT) — The leading professional organization for toxicologists, focused on the science of how chemical and physical agents affect biological systems
• International Association of Forensic Science Consultants (IAFTC) — An organization of professionals who provide forensic science consulting services to the legal system

These memberships are not honorary. They require ongoing engagement with the scientific community, attendance at professional meetings, and commitment to advancing forensic science. They also mean that Deandra Grant has access to the latest peer-reviewed research, emerging methodologies, and professional networks that practicing scientists rely on. These are resources that are not available to attorneys who simply completed a course.

Additional Forensic Qualifications

• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist — Earned 2015. Both Deandra Grant and Partner Douglas Huff hold this designation.
• First Texas attorney to pass the Forensic Sobriety Assessment Certification exam
• Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) Instructor — Qualified to teach the same field sobriety testing techniques used by law enforcement
• Drug Recognition Overview Course — Training in the methods officers use to recognize drug impairment
• Intoxilyzer 5000 Operator and Maintenance Technician — Trained on the operation and maintenance of breath testing instruments

Why This Matters for Your Case

DWI and drug cases are built on scientific evidence: blood alcohol concentration from breath or blood tests, toxicology reports, field sobriety test observations, and drug recognition evaluations. The prosecution will present this evidence as if it is infallible. It is not.

The science behind DWI testing is complex, and errors are more common than most people realize. Here are five issues that an attorney with genuine scientific expertise can identify and exploit:

• In vitro fermentation: Improperly preserved blood samples can generate ethanol after collection through microbial activity, producing a falsely elevated BAC result. Identifying this requires understanding fermentation biochemistry and sample preservation chemistry.
• Coelution: When a gas chromatograph cannot separate two compounds with similar retention times, one compound may be misidentified as another — or the reported concentration may include a contribution from an interfering substance. Recognizing coelution on a chromatogram requires instrument-level knowledge.
• Partition ratio variability: Breath testing instruments assume a blood-to-breath alcohol ratio of 2100:1. This ratio varies among individuals from approximately 1300:1 to 3100:1, meaning the same breath sample could produce dramatically different BAC readings depending on the individual’s actual ratio. Understanding why requires knowledge of pulmonary physiology and Henry’s Law.
• Retrograde extrapolation errors: Prosecutors often attempt to estimate BAC at the time of driving using a result obtained 60–90 minutes later. This calculation depends on individual absorption and elimination rates, food intake, time since last drink, and genetic factors. The pharmaceutical science degree provides the pharmacokinetic foundation to challenge these calculations.
• Drug interaction effects: When a defendant was taking prescription medications, the interaction between alcohol and those medications — or between multiple medications — can affect both impairment and test results. Evaluating these interactions requires understanding cytochrome P450 enzyme systems, competitive inhibition, and pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction models.

An attorney who completed the ACS-CHAL courses can identify some of these issues. An attorney who teaches those courses, holds a graduate degree in pharmaceutical science, a graduate certificate in forensic toxicology, and maintains active membership in AAFS, ACS, SOT, and IAFTC can identify all of them and explain them to a jury in language they can understand.

What Is the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist Designation?

The ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation is conferred by the Chemistry and the Law (CHAL) Division of the American Chemical Society. To earn the designation, an attorney must complete four intensive, hands-on laboratory courses at Axion Analytical Labs in Chicago and pass a proficiency examination:

ACS Forensic Chromatography Course (taken twice)

Covers ethanol-based DUI/DWI analysis via headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (HS-GC-FID). Attorneys learn the theoretical foundations of gas and liquid chromatography, FID, mass spectrometry (EI and EC), and UV-DAD. The course includes hands-on operation of the instruments used in crime labs to analyze blood and breath samples.

ACS Solid Drug Dose Course (Forensic Drug Analysis)

Covers instrumental analysis of controlled substances using FTIR, GC-MS, colorimetrics, microscopy, and thin-layer chromatography. Attorneys learn how crime labs identify seized drugs and where identification errors occur.

ACS Forensic DUID Course (Forensic Principles of DUID)

Covers drug pharmacology and driving impairment, including instrumental analysis of biological specimens (blood, urine, hair, oral fluid) via GC-MS. The curriculum addresses pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of drugs that affect driving ability.

These are rigorous, laboratory-intensive courses. Attendees develop samples, operate instruments, and interpret data under real analytical conditions. The proficiency examination tests comprehensive understanding.

Deandra Grant helps teach these courses and then administers and grades the exam. The attorneys who earn the ACS-CHAL Lawyer-Scientist designation learn from her. When you hire Deandra Grant, you are hiring the person who trained them.

At Deandra Grant Law, both Deandra Grant and Partner Douglas Huff hold the ACS-CHAL designation, giving the firm two forensic lawyer-scientists working on your case.

Questions to Ask Any Attorney Who Claims Scientific Expertise in DWI Defense

If you are evaluating DWI defense attorneys, here are the questions that separate genuine scientific expertise from marketing language:

• Do you hold a graduate degree in any scientific discipline? A course credential and a graduate degree represent fundamentally different levels of scientific training. A Master’s in Pharmaceutical Science requires years of university study; a course credential requires attendance at specific training sessions.
• Do you teach forensic science courses, or did you only take them? Teaching requires a level of mastery that course completion does not. If your attorney teaches the course, they understand the material deeply enough to explain it to other professionals — and to a jury.
• Are you a member of any scientific professional organizations? Membership in AAFS, ACS, SOT, or similar organizations indicates active engagement with the scientific community, not just legal application of scientific concepts.
• Can you explain how GC-FID works at the instrumental level? An attorney with genuine expertise can explain headspace sampling, internal standard calibration, flame ionization detection, and coelution — not just state that “we challenge blood test results.”
• How do you handle drug DWI cases involving prescription medications? These cases require knowledge of specific drug metabolism pathways, therapeutic ranges, cytochrome P450 interactions, and pharmacokinetic literature. This is where the pharmaceutical science degree is decisive.

The Complete Defense Team at Deandra Grant Law

Deandra Grant’s scientific credentials are the foundation of a defense team built for the most challenging cases:

• Douglas Huff, Partner and Criminal Division Chief: ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist with Garrett Discovery digital forensics training for analysis of cell phone data, social media evidence, and electronic records
• James Lee Bright, Federal Defense Attorney: For drug cases prosecuted in federal court under federal sentencing guidelines
• 30+ Years of Defense Experience: Defending DWI and criminal cases in Texas since 1995
• Texas Super Lawyer Since 2011, Best Lawyers in America 2025
• Author of 18+ Law Books, including The Texas DWI Manual (James Publishing, updated annually) and county-specific DWI guides
• Six Office Locations: Dallas, Allen, Denton, Fort Worth, Waco and Rockwall

Schedule a Free Consultation

If you are facing DWI or drug charges in Texas, the science behind the evidence will determine the outcome of your case. Before choosing your defense attorney, understand the difference between someone who took a course and someone who teaches it, grades the exam, holds a graduate degree in the science, and is a member of the scientific organizations that define forensic science as a profession.

Contact Deandra Grant Law at (214) 225-7117 or visit texasdwisite.com to schedule a free, confidential consultation.