Articles Posted in Breathalyzer Testing

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…

The Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed the issue of proving a motorist has a blood alcohol content over .08 under the per se law when there is a substantial time lapse between the time of the breath test and driving observations. This issues frequently arises as one of the many defenses…

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…

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…

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…

As a , anytime a person comes into the office after having failed the breath test, I know that I will have to explain to them why the breath test machine can be unreliable and ways the case can be won despite the breath test results. While breath test evidence…

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…

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…

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…

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…