I have blogged a lot on Blood Testing for DUI and specifically Gas Chromatography for alcohol (ETOH) or drugs of abuse testing used in DUI prosecutions.
Some people ask:
Justin, your posts are so hyper-technical, why do you post such detailed stuff?
When you are facing a Pennsylvania DUI, possible consequences include jail time, probation, loss of your driving license and fines. For more information please take a look at our series: "Why Fight a DUI in Pennsylvania?". When facing consequences this serious, you need the very best Pennsylvania DUI attorney you can find. Not just a lawyer who handles DUI cases. You need a real DUI lawyer-scientist. We posted before about how a normal folks can compare the qualifications of prospective lawyers and make an informed decision about who is the best to handle their DUI case. Please take a look at our series "How to Find a DUI Lawyer in PA".
The purpose of the many posts I have done on DUI Blood Testing is to show the highly technical nature of this testing and how only a true lawyer-scientist who has a strong background in Analytical chemistry can challenge these results successfully.
So with that in place, I offer the following review of some of the posts that I have made on Pennsylvania Blood testing for DUI….
- Why forensic science testing for DUI BAC determination is the silly sister of analytical science: Good Laboratory Practice
- WellSpan is to be commended, but why people who have been convicted for decades of a DUI should be upset
- A large problem in Gas Chromatography: No uniform standard for GC run position or composition
- Crimping a Headspace Vial in Gas Chromatography: How not putting the "lid on the jar" can lead to disaster in a DUI case
- Why is Due Process of Law different than the Due Process of Science: Blood Alcohol Content is only an Estimate
- Harrisburg DUI Lawyer comments on Inaccurate Blood Alcohol Content and Bad BAC Results
- Gas Chromatography and why is it is so important to Pennsylvania DUI arrests
- On the origin of Species-Why do we use Gray Tubes for Forensic Blood Analysis for BAC
- Harrisburg DUI Lawyer comments on Inaccurate Blood Alcohol Content and Bad BAC Results
- Underage Drinking and DUI in Pennsylvania: LOD and LOQ Defense
- Highest reported BAC .708: I call Shenanigans
- Why is Due Process of Law different than the Due Process of Science: Blood Alcohol Content is only an Estimate
- What Pac-Man and Inflated and Incorrect Blood Alcohol Content results have in common
- When is a straight line a curve: Calibration curve
- Metrology in DUI prosecution
- Why saying the sample was run on a gas chromatograph is nearly meaningless
- Putting Innocent People in Jail
- A wakeup call: Independence in Crime Labs is not enough
- The Carry-over Effect: Lack of Blanks between tests leads to false positive or inflated BAC results
- If he was an analytical chemist or a DUI defense attorney he would say "Show me the separation!!"
- The variables of the Gas Chromatography process
- In analytical chemistry for ETOH and Drugs of Abuse determination, it is very true that the matrix is all around us but truly is ignored
- Personal bias is bad, but analytical bias spells disaster in DUI BAC and Drugs of Abuse testing
- Carryover effect part Deux: Autodilution may be part of the problem for false blood results in DUI
- Internal standard the likely culprit for inaccurate BAC results
- Carryover effect part 3: Flushing of inert gas is not enough to prove there is no carryover
- How do they make the squiggly lines turn into a magic number: Area under the peak
- When tall and skinny is always beautiful? Fundamental principles of gas chromatography
-Justin J. McShane, Esquire, Pennsylvania DUI Attorney
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Justin McShane
PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.
Eric Tittel says:
When i was walking out of Lowe’s a police car was behing my vehicle. I got pulled over after going through a yellow light last night after i left Lowe’s;, vehicle was looked over and after that they gave me a couple of test and they said I failed. Placed me under arrest,with a charge of DUI. Was taken to local hospital for a blood test and prior to that when I was having the field test I made it know that I did party a couple of weeks ago. I asked numerous times to use the bathroom and was I told itll happen when we get back to the station. When at the hospital I was asked to sign paperwork, which I replied that I need my glasses to see what I was signing. You’ll get your glasses when we get back to station..The corpal replied that it was the stuff he talked about when he was doing the field test. Still back at the station I wasn’t able to use the bathroom. After fingerprints and photos, 20 minutes total I was allowed to leave. Was told not to move the vehicle and if I did charges will be filled.