Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

 

Breathalyzer Technology: Still Unreliable?

Breathalyzer Technology: Still Unreliable?

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 demonstrates the lengths manufacturers will go to silence doubts about the devices.

In the case, a defense attorney hired two experts to analyze the source code of the Alcotest 9510, a breathalyzer used in Washington and other states to test blood alcohol concentration. The experts reviewed the code and wrote a preliminary report. The report stated that the code showed flaws that could result in incorrect breath test results.

In particular, the flaws included (1) an elevated reading in some cases due to discrepancies between the two measuring devices for BAC that are used in the Alcotest, (2) no correction for differences in human breath temperature, (3) no ambient temperature checks to see if it is too hot or cold to accurately operate the device, and (4) possible inaccurate results due to fuel cell degradation and too few calibrations.

The experts took their report to a conference for defense attorneys. Draeger, the company that manufactures the Alcotest 9510, threatened to sue the experts for violating the protective order issued by the court when the code was released. They settled out of court, but the experts never completed a final report or continued their investigation.

A Draeger spokesperson claimed that the company was just protecting its source code, which it says is proprietary. Previously, others have challenged the Alcotest and other breathalyzers’ accuracy and received their source code. Courts still remain skeptical that these devices could be inaccurate.

Have you been charged with a DUI in Oklahoma and don’t know where to turn? Seek out the attorney who knows the system. Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor now using his trial experience and expert-level knowledge of DUI science to defend drivers, has the experience and the insight to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your case. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.