A panel of Justices of the Massachusetts Appeals Court heard oral arguments this Thursday, June 5th, on the admissibility of breathalyzer test results where Commonwealth failed to comply with defense counsel’s discovery request for the operator’s manual to the breathalyzer device used. The arguments were raised in the matter of Com. v. Kristopher Cormier (2013-P-1923. This issue is of critical importance for Massachusetts OUI Lawyers as a result for the defendant in this case could result in the suppression of breath test results.

The issue is whether the Commonwealth should be allowed to rely on breathalyzer test results during trial where the test results were offered through a testifying police officer who administered the test, and without allowing defense counsel an opportunity to review the manual in preparing his case for trial.

This case was brought to the Appeals Court on an interlocutory appeal filed by the defendant after a trial judge of the Fitchburg District Court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the breathalyzer test results.

A California trial judge presiding over the OUI trial of People v. Vangelder was recently affirmed by the California Supreme Court when he prevented a jury from listening to expert testimony on the general unreliability of scientific techniques underlying breathalyzer tests. If appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, this decision could limit or exclude expert testimony on the scientific unreliability and inaccuracy of breathalyzer tests across all jurisdictions, abolishing what can be a strong defense against an OUI charge.

In the matter of People v. Vangelder, a state officer clocked Vangelder driving late into the night on a speeding on a state highway. After following Vangelder for a few miles without observing any signs of intoxication, the officer pulled Vangelder over to the shoulder of the road. Vangelder was fully compliant with all of the officer’s instructions. After being questioned, Vangelder told the officer that he had three glasses of wine at dinner, and that he was just goofing around on the road.

Vangelder passed all field sobriety tests, and then submitted to preliminary breathalyzer tests. The results came in at 0.095 and 0.086. After Vangelder was arrested (the state limit is 0.08) and transported to the station, he submitted to two more breathalyzer exams which returned a reading of 0.08. Vangelder was charged with two misdemeanors – a generic OUI offense, and the more specific offense of driving with a BAC reading above 0.08 percent – despite the inconsistencies in the BAC readings.

As a Massachusetts OUI attorney, an issue that will arise in many cases will be the accuracy of the breathalyzer machine that displays a driver’s blood alcohol content. One of the main reasons this test is unreliable is because of the partition ratio which is used to convert alcohol on the breath into blood alcohol content. The big problem with this however is that a breathalyzer machine will use a standard partition ratio for every person who blows into the machine. However, the partition ratio may be different for every person which may cause the machine to read a much higher blood alcohol content then is actually present. The Arizona Supreme Court just weighed in on the admissibility of evidence of this partition ratio that is used to make the conversion.

The case of Arizona v. Cooperman had the defendant driver being charged with two drunk driving charges. The first charge was driving while impaired to the slightest degree. The other charge was a per se drunk driving charge meaning the defendant was driving with a blood alcohol of over .08. With this per se charge, all that is needed is to show that the defendant was driving within two hours of blowing the .08. In the impaired driving charge, there is no presumption of intoxication, but the breath test can be used as relevant evidence along with other factors to prove intoxication.

In this case, the Arizona court was ruling on the admissibility of partition ratio evidence and whether it was relevant. The court upheld the evidence and stated the evidence for the partition ratio should be allowed. The state argued that the prosecution was only using the breath test on the second charge of the per se violation and no the impaired driving charge so it was therefore irrelevant. The defendant wanted to introduce this evidence to prove he was not impaired even though the prosecution was only using the breathalyzer test to prove the per se violation. The court allowed the evidence stating that there is a strong correlation between blood alcohol and impairment. The evidence of the partition ratio is relevant as it can show the defendant had a lower blood alcohol content and therefore was not impaired. This evidence is still relevant even though the state was only using the blood alcohol content for the per se violation. The partition ratio could not be used as evidence for the per se violation because the per se violation is based solely on alcohol on the breath and the partition ratio will not come into play.

Unlike under Massachusetts OUI Law, in some jurisdictions, the statutory penalties of driving under the influence vary depending on blood-alcohol measurements as determined by a breathalyzer exam or blood test. While trial courts across the nation are becoming increasingly skeptical of breathalyzers, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently reversed a trial judge’s decision to dismiss a heightened DUI charge on a finding that breathalyzers are inaccurate. In Massachusetts, the statutory penalties are essentially the same regardless of the breath test results other than for drivers under 21 and other than the additional requirement of an alcohol assessment; of course, a judge is likely to impose a harsher punishment with a higher breath test result.

Last December a trial judge in Pennsylvania rejected a prosecutor’s attempts to prove the defendant, in the case of State v. Schildt, guilty of a heightened DUI statutory charge by presenting results from a breath test as evidence of the defendant having a BAC reading of 0.16 percent. A reading of 0.16 percent or greater qualifies a defendant in Pennsylvania for the maximum penalty under the DUI statute, with increased prison time and fines.

After hearing arguments from both parties, Judge Lawrence Clark Jr. ruled that breathalyzers are not scientifically accurate beyond a 0.15% blood-alcohol reading. Judge Clark Jr. then concluded that without an accurate blood-alcohol reading, the State will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Schildt was so intoxicated so as to qualify him for the heightened statutory sentence. He therefore dismissed the charge.

As a OUI Lawyer , a case will often involve somebody who nhas refused to take a breathalyzer test after being pulled over. In some cases, a motorist may change their mind and request a breath test after refusing to submit to one. In a recent case, the issue was raised is whether a defendant can offer into evidence there request to take a breath test after an initial refusal.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court recently answered this question in Commonwealth v. Jones. In Commonwealth v. Jones, the defendant was pulled over by two police officers after a truck was witnessed driving erratically. The defendant had blood shot eyes, had an open container of alcohol and was stumbling getting out of the car. After performing poorly on the field sobriety test, the defendant was arrested and brought to the police station.

At trial, the defendant made a motion to permit evidence that while at the police station, he originally refused a breathalyzer test but then “shortly afterwards” changed his mind and asked for the breathalyzer. The prosecution argued this had the potential of opening “a can of worms” of evidence that would be allowed and the judge rejected the motion and did not allow the evidence. The defendant was convicted of an OUI after trial.

On appeal, the SJC ruled that the judge at trial acted within the scope of his discretion in not allowing the testimony. The court explained that this evidence could only excuse the defendant to the extent it suggested a conscious innocence at the time of the request. In other words, the defendant had to be requesting the breathalyzer because he felt he was not drunk and it could prove his innocence. The SJC held that there are too many other reasons for the breathalyzer request and was most likely trying to avoid the automatic license suspension. The court felt allowing this evidence may mislead or confuse a jury, complicate the case or prolong the case. The evidence here was not allowed.

In Massachusetts if you are pulled over for an OUI and refuse a breathalyzer test, evidence that you later requested a breathalyzer and were denied is probably not admissible. However the SJC does seem to leave the door open to cases where defendants are requesting the breathalyzer because they consciously believe they are not drunk. The SJC in Commonwealth v. Jones felt he had other motives in requesting the breathalyzer. It may be hard to prove to a court, but if a defendant can in fact prove they were requesting the breathalyzer because they believed they were not above the legal limit of alcohol, that evidence may be admissible. A top OUI lawyer will argue that all potentially exculpatory evidence shall be admitted and that this falls within that category.
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As a Massachusetts OUI attorney, challenges to breath test and blood test evidence based on the 6th Amendment Confrontation must be made in each case as the law continues to evolve in this area. Cases from the United States Supreme Court continue to define the scope of the right of confrontation.

Recently, the New York Appeals Court ruled on the issue of an alleged violation of the “Confrontation Clause” when records for a Breathalyzer test were presented at trial without the verbal testimony of the technicians whom completed the tests.

In State v. Pealer, a police officer stopped the defendant for suspicion of drunk driving. When the defendant failed all sobriety tests, he was arrested. At the station, he failed a Breathalyzer test.

For Massachusetts OUI lawyers, the recent decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court may be used to challenge the admissibility of breath test results in Massachusetts.

In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Schildt, the defendant’s Attorney Justin McShane argued that the breath test machine was incapable of producing accurate and reliable results outside a linear range of .05 to .15. This argument was made because Pennsylvania does not test its breath test machine for accuracy outside of those values. The victory in the case by Attorney McShane was the results of years of dedication to understanding the science of involved in DUI cases which has made him one of the leading DUI lawyers in the United States.

Pennsylvania law, like Massachusetts OUI law has a provision that any breath test result over .08 results in a presumption that the individual is under the influence of alcohol. This is considered a per se violation because if the breath test results is admitted into evidence and deemed reliable, there is a presumption of impairment.

Motorists in Washington D.C. may again face police departments armed with breathalyzers, following a two-year hiatus connected to inflated results that led to dozens of faulty convictions.

Our Massachusetts DUI lawyers understand that the previous machines were producing readings that were, on average, about 20 percent too high. About two dozen of those convicted sued the city, and received a settlement of about $130,000. Hundreds more convictions have been called into question.

Metro Police say they have addressed the issues, but we would argue that no machine is every guaranteed 100 percent of the time. That’s a serious issue because those arrested and convicted of a DUI may serve jail time, lose their jobs and be compelled to pay heft fines. Breathalyzer results are often the key piece of evidence used in convictions.

Police say one of the reasons they have taken their time before re-implementing the breathalyzer program was that they wanted to ensure the program they had in place would be scientifically viable and able to hold up in court. However, we anticipate further legal challenges, particularly given the tougher DUI penalties that the city council approved over the summer. The measures were formally adopted Aug. 1.

Among those changes:

• Jail time has doubled for someone who has a blood-alcohol level of between 0.20 percent and 0.24 percent. It has gone from five days to 10 days.
• For someone who is arrested with a blood alcohol content of 0.25 percent or higher, the minimum jail sentence has been bumped to 15 days.
• Drivers who are deemed drunk with a child in the vehicle now face a minimum of five days in jail, with minimum fines more than tripling, from $300 to $1,000.
• Maximum DUI sentences have doubled, from a three months to six months.
• Commercial drivers, those behind the wheel of taxis or trucks, can be prosecuted for a DUI if they have a blood alcohol content over 0.04 percent (below the regular legal limit for everyone else, which is 0.08 percent).

Although these measures are only in place for D.C. motorists, those in neighboring states or who travel frequently to the city should take note. It’s illustrative of a trend throughout New England: law enforcement and lawmakers continue to work together to make laws tougher on those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Breathalyzers are frequently used by law enforcement agencies, both in Massachusetts and throughout the country, in DUI cases, and have been for years. During that time, numerous legal challenges have been raised regarding their accuracy.

For example, just this year in San Francisco, it was learned that the police department there had not been regularly testing the accuracy of breathalyzer machines. As such, hundreds and possibly thousands of DUI convictions handed out over the last six years could be overturned.

The problem is in the way these devices are designed. They measure the blood alcohol level as it can be found on your breath. This is essentially an estimate, and not an exact measure of what is in your blood. Plus, breathalyzers are designed to measure your BAC based on the average person. So your metabolism, sex, height and weight – which can each have an effect on whether are not you are actually intoxicated – are not taken into account.
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