Breathalyzer Technology: Still Unreliable?

Doubts about breathalyzer accuracy continue to circulate in the DUI defense community and have led to successful court strategies for defendants. There are two main ways that defense attorneys challenge breathalyzer results: by questioning calibration and maintenance procedures and rules, and by questioning whether the machines, even properly calibrated, produce accurate results. Courts have repeatedly found problems with the way police departments maintain breathalyzers and with the rules governing calibration and maintenance. See our previous blogs on this topic. Further, courts continue to order manufacturers to release source code for breathalyzer devices to defense attorneys. A recent case from Washington state...