Beat a DUI: Inaccurate Test Results

One of the most powerful, but possibly most challenging, ways to beat a DUI charge is to prove that the test results the prosecution uses to prove their case are inaccurate. Everyone knows that no machine is perfect, and neither are the technicians who operate them. There are specific requirements for maintaining breathalyzer test equipment and for ensuring the accuracy of other tests that, if not adhered to, will provide unreliable results that can be challenged in court.

Chemical Tests

There are a number of tests that are used to provide evidence in DUI cases. Some of the most common include:

• Field Sobriety Tests

• Breathalyzer Tests

• Urine Tests

• Blood Tests

If an officer asks a defendant to take any of these tests, they are required to do so. Nevertheless, the law also gives a suspect the right to have their own independent test done elsewhere, to compare results.

Challenging Test Results

In order to challenge any of these test results, a defendant must go through several steps:

• Obtain a police report to learn the results of the police tests

• Obtain a copy of the police log detailing when the equipment used on the defendant’s test was last maintained and calibrated. There are very strict requirements for ensuring reliable equipment, and if those requirements are not kept, the results obtained through that equipment may be challenged, often successfully

• Obtain a copy of the operating manual of the equipment to make sure the arresting officer administered the test correctly. If they did not do so, the test results may also be considered unreliable

In addition, those manuals will provide information about conditions that may cause the equipment to give false readings, and there are many:

• Certain medications can alter test results, especially blood thinners

• Other equipment operating nearby, such as cell phones, electrical interference, and police radios

• Other substances in the area, such as moisture, dirt, tobacco smoke, gasoline, paint removers, cleaning fluids, and lacquers

• Other substances in a person’s mouth, including mouthwash, cough syrup, breath mints, vomit, blood, or alcohol

• Differences in a person’s breathing rate due to hyperventilation, holding their breath, or vigorous exercise

• Belching or hiccups

With all of those possible areas of error, a defendant may be able to prove that the test results are unreliable and inadmissible, causing the DUI case to be dismissed.

Getting Legal Help with Proving the Inaccuracy of Test Results

These can be powerful defenses to present to a court in a DUI case. However, it may be difficult to obtain all of the reports, logs, and manuals that are needed. It may require the experience of a DUI attorney who has used these resources before to find the evidence in a new case for a winning defense.