If you aren’t a DUI attorney, then you probably don’t know much about the issues that have been surrounding the breath test in the Seattle area for the last year and a half or so. But the issues have arisen again. And, yours truly is one of the participants.
Let me give you a quick recap.
About a year and a half ago some very good DUI attorneys started digging into the statistics and processes the Washington State Toxicology Lab was using to evaluate, verify, and maintain their breath test results and machines. And they began to see some disturbing things. First, they noticed that the data as reported and the data as recorded didn’t match up. Someone was changing the numbers somewhere. Second, the person in charge of verifying the tests was signing verifications without actually verifying. This information was being used in court on a daily basis to put people in jail.
So, these DUI lawyers got together and asked to court to stop accepting the results. And, magically, they did. The court wrote a scathing opinion criticizing the toxicology lab for its practices, and left the door open for prosecutors to take up the issue again when and if they got their shit together. Well, that time has supposedly come.
The great thing about challenging a test like the DataMaster test is that it is inherently flawed. Although that does not mean it will automatically be suppressed, it does mean that there are a litany of problems that will always exist. That doesn’t mean that judges will always accept them, but it does mean every criminal attorney in the state has ammunition to use against the breath test results.
The hearing on the state’s motion is set for August 2 of this year. There are going to be a lot of experts, a lot of great DUI attorneys arguing, and a lot of attorneys sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the outcome. And I’ll be right there in the middle of it.
Tags: breath test suppression, criminal attorney, DUI attorney, DUI lawyer
