By Riley S. Lovejoy, Attorney at Law – Snohomish County District Court, South Division - Recently, attorneys who represent those accused of DUI challenged the reliability of the breath-alcohol and blood-alcohol measurements prosecutors regularly use to get convictions. Specifically, the defense lawyers argued that instead of a flat number (like .08 or .15), the BAC should be presented to the jury as a range (say, .o8 +/-.02). The defense attorneys called a scientist to testify as an expert witness. He testified that “a scientist will not consider a measurement scientifically reliable unless that measurement includes an uncertainties calculation.” Despite their efforts, the DUI defendants lost their motion to suppress their breath test results. The judge ruled that while the BAC results might be presented another way, the BAC evidence as it is currently presented still assists the fact finder in understanding the evidence and determining disputed facts, and there wasn’t enough evidence to persuade the court that current methods are unreliable.
For information on your Washington State DUI please contact our Snohomish 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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