A few months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States considered the question whether states may attach criminal penalties on a diver who refuses to submit to a blood or breath test to measure the blood alcohol concentration level during a DUI arrest. For Birchfield v. North Dakota case, the Court wanted to know in…
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Mis-calibrated Breathalyzer Machine Problems in PA
One of the main problems with DUI breath testing is that individual police departments are responsible for making sure the machines are working properly. There are no checks and balances. Imagine a restaurant conducting its own food and health inspections. It makes no sense. Well then why does it make sense for the police to…
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Don’t Eat (Pizza) and Drive!
Did you know that eating white bread, donuts and pizza dough can register positive blood-alcohol readings on a Breathalyzer Machine? Sounds absurd—but it’s true. A number of experiments were conducted where the BAC of a normal person was recorded by the breath machine to be 0.0% . The subject then ate a slice of white bread…
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The science of the Justin Bieber DUI case: How a lawyer-scientist can help
The science of the Justin Bieber DUI case: How a lawyer-scientist can help [Updated on 26 January 2014 at 905 am EST entitled “The Problem with the Resisting Arrest without Violence charge.”] [Updated on 31 January at 1216 pm EST to include the TMZ link to the GPS records.] There are a lot of my…
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Another Day, Another Breath Testing Scandal in Pennsylvania
Recently, the elected District Attorney for Carbon County did the ethically correct thing (more or less). It appears as if the National Patent Analytical Systems DataMaster DMT units that were positioned in the Lehighton Barracks between October 25, 2011 and June 22, 2012 were not maintained appropriately. This type of event further highlights the…
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More About Faulty Breath Machines
Breath machines are faulty to the point where I no longer understand why they are even used for DUI evidence. Professional DUI attorneys know this and the general population is also starting to understand how bad this technology is. The super- duper Intoxilyzer 5000, which is used in Pennsylvania as well as in many states…
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Another Week, Another Breath Testing Scandal- I Think I See a Pattern
Another week, another breath testing scandal. Whether it’s Philadelphia or our nation’s capital it seems like states and counties all over the country are reporting the same issue- faulty breath testing equipment leading to erroneous BrAC readings and false DUI arrests and even convictions. This week it’s Santa Clara’s turn. The problem is not limited…
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DUI Cases in Philadelphia to be Re-tried Due to Bad Breathalyzer
[Blogger’s note and update 3/23/2011: We have been up-to-date on this developing story. The issue as far as we see it is going to effect literally thousands of convictions. The “issue” goes back to the switch over to the Intoxilyzer 8000 which occurred in September 2009.] When I tell people that I am a PA…
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Defense Attorneys Challenge Intoxilyzer 5000
The Intoxilyzer 5000 is one of the most commonly used breath machines in the United States. It is used for DUI testing in Pennsylvania as well as all over the country and, in a nutshell, it’s a piece of crap. It is not accurate and not even specific to alcohol. In fact, a group of…
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PA DUI Mailbag: I Thought .08 was a DUI in PA?
Every Friday we will take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions about Pennsylvania DUI so that we can clear up any misconceptions and provide you with the most up-to-date and accurate information. Today: Dear Pennsylvania DUI Lawyer, My 20 year old son was charged with a DUI while he tested at…
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