Posted By McAdams Law |
November 16 2020 |DUI, Firm News
If law enforcement stops you on suspicion of drunk driving, you will face testing to determine your blood alcohol content level.
You may think you have little chance of a positive outcome. However, a breath testing machine is not infallible. There could be issues beginning with the possibility of improper calibration.
Breath test issues
There are various issues associated with breath alcohol testing. You may have taken a breath mint shortly before taking the test. You may have taken medication containing alcohol or eaten food containing some level of alcohol prior to testing. Furthermore, for the results to be reliable, both the machine and the operator must have proper certification.
Calibration problems
A machine designed to test blood alcohol content levels must also be properly calibrated, as illustrated by an incident that occurred in Philadelphia, PA. In the summer of 2016, the police department in that city found that the calibration dates on its Breathalyzer machines had expired. The problem potentially affected hundreds of DUI cases from the first half of the year because lawyers for the defendants could argue that the calibration issue made the results of the tests inadmissible in court.
Evidence in question
If law enforcement arrests you for DUI or DWAI, a defense strategy will include close examination of the results of your breath alcohol testing. To begin with, keep in mind that in the state of Colorado, you must have taken the breath test within two hours of your arrest for the results to be admissible in court. There are many questions surrounding this kind of testing procedure and you have a right to expect the best outcome possible for your case.
