Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Attorney challenges DUI breath test
DUI criminal defense lawyers & drunk driving defense attorneys news
Legal challenge to DUI breath-test machine
Legal challenge to DUI breath-test machine - by Kent Pierce
Intoxilyzer 5000
Intoxilyzer 5000 EN - Manufacturer's web site
One method of busting drunk drivers in the state comes under fire today. Some Connecticut attorneys are calling on the DMV to take a closer look at the test and law in place when it comes to cracking down on those driving under the influence.
It seems simple enough -- You get pulled over, you blow into a tube and a machine figures out your blood alcohol level. It's a machine they've been using for years. Today's hearing is all about whether the device the police use to determine if a driver is drunk actually does that in the way the state drunk driving laws are written.
"The expectation of the Commissioner was that the Intoxilyzer 5000 produced results at time of use, basically that are consistent with the statutory requirements of the state of Connecticut," state toxicologist Dr. Robert Powers said.
The state says the machine is fine, but lawyers representing drivers who got their licenses suspended for drunk driving argue the machine is not certified to measure the right thing.
"Certification does not mean that the machine is certified to produce a measurement meeting the statutory definition of elevated blood alcohol. The Intoxilyzer reports in a weight-volume measurement," defense attorney Gene Riccio said.
"Very basically, the breathalyzer - really called the "Intoxilyzer 5000 EN" - measures alcohol in your breath, but the law calls for a measure of alcohol in your blood, so the machine has to convert the measurement," Riccio said.
"This is not new science. These devices are in use all over the country," said John Yacavone, legal counsel for the Department of Motor Vehicles. "There are a number of routines that the device performs to make what we call the conversion."
Yacavone says if anything in that conversion, the Intoxilyzer 5000 underestimates blood alcohol level, giving the benefit to the driver.
The attorney for those drivers say they have evidence that the conversion actually can make people seem drunker than they really are.
Legal challenge to DUI breath-test machine
Legal challenge to DUI breath-test machine - by Kent Pierce
Intoxilyzer 5000
Intoxilyzer 5000 EN - Manufacturer's web site
One method of busting drunk drivers in the state comes under fire today. Some Connecticut attorneys are calling on the DMV to take a closer look at the test and law in place when it comes to cracking down on those driving under the influence.
It seems simple enough -- You get pulled over, you blow into a tube and a machine figures out your blood alcohol level. It's a machine they've been using for years. Today's hearing is all about whether the device the police use to determine if a driver is drunk actually does that in the way the state drunk driving laws are written.
"The expectation of the Commissioner was that the Intoxilyzer 5000 produced results at time of use, basically that are consistent with the statutory requirements of the state of Connecticut," state toxicologist Dr. Robert Powers said.
The state says the machine is fine, but lawyers representing drivers who got their licenses suspended for drunk driving argue the machine is not certified to measure the right thing.
"Certification does not mean that the machine is certified to produce a measurement meeting the statutory definition of elevated blood alcohol. The Intoxilyzer reports in a weight-volume measurement," defense attorney Gene Riccio said.
"Very basically, the breathalyzer - really called the "Intoxilyzer 5000 EN" - measures alcohol in your breath, but the law calls for a measure of alcohol in your blood, so the machine has to convert the measurement," Riccio said.
"This is not new science. These devices are in use all over the country," said John Yacavone, legal counsel for the Department of Motor Vehicles. "There are a number of routines that the device performs to make what we call the conversion."
Yacavone says if anything in that conversion, the Intoxilyzer 5000 underestimates blood alcohol level, giving the benefit to the driver.
The attorney for those drivers say they have evidence that the conversion actually can make people seem drunker than they really are.
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 6:32 PM 
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