Big problem with touted research finding

Posted on June 16, 2020 in Breath Alcohol Testing

Recently announced research findings are being heralded as a big step forward in the development of an electronic marijuana breathalyzer. Chemists said in a peer-reviewed American Chemical Society journal that they have found the key chemical needed to develop a breathalyzer that will be able to detect if people are driving while high on cannabis.

While chemists might not recognize that there is a significant problem here, defense attorneys certainly do: breathalyzers are flawed devices that far too often generate inaccurate readings that result in unwarranted DUI arrests.

Police departments across Arizona and the nation are eager for a breathalyzer type of device for drugged driving enforcement. While law enforcement agencies often behave as if breath-testing devices are infallible, many people across the nation who have in recent years been chargedwith drunk driving have, with the help of defense lawyers who understand the breathalyzer flaws, been able to successfully fight the charges.

When the New York Times investigated breathalyzer reliability late last year, it found that the devices had a variety of problems: they were sometimes misused by police officers, sometimes poorly maintained (or not maintained at all) and sometimes improperly calibrated. The Times stated that “thousands of motorists have been able to cast enough doubt on theresults of their breath tests to win acquittals.”

In New Jersey, a trooper’s calibration mistake invalidated 18,000 tests, and in Massachusetts, problems with the devices meant that eight years of tests were thrown out.

A successful DUI defense begins with an attorney who understands the law and can conduct a detailed examination of the evidence and the circumstances of the traffic stop, testing and arrest. Contact the Scottsdale office of the Rosenstein Law Group to schedule a safe consultation.