In 2008, after a scandal in the state patrol's toxicology lab, a panel of King County District Court judges banned breath test results from being used as evidence in DUI cases. "For two years we've had to try these cases without the best evidence," said King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg. That was a major blow, Satterberg said. "We didn't get all the cases we wanted to. Sometimes people's driving isn't that bad, if they're practiced drunks."
Wednesday, the court reversed its ruling, deciding the State Patrol lab has corrected its problems, and the breath tests are reliable, so they can be used in the courtroom.
What is missing from the Prosecuting Attorney's statements? A simple reminder that the reason for the BAC suppression was directly due to scandle, fraud, and lies. Our government facilitated an environment that proved the old sayin, "Good enough for government work." Further, it has taken more than two years for the Toxicology Lab and Prosecuting Attorney's office to right their wrongs and get the BAC issue corrected. Why? If it was so important, which it is, then why didn't Mr. Satterberg do more? Why didn't he dedicate more staff to getting the issue corrected so, according to Mr. Satterberg, he can keep "more drunk drivers in jail, and fewer on the roads."
When it's election time remember that Mr. Satterberg talks the talk, but it took him two years to walk the walk. Troubling...
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish County DUI attorneys, Whatcom County DUI attorneys, King County DUI attorneys, Island County DUI attorneys, or Skagit County DUI attorneys at 425-493-1115 or check out our website at http://www.washdui.com
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