Misuse of DUI Machines?

At the FL DUI Group, we always urge you to remember the bottom line…No DUI arrest is perfect. Law Enforcement officers are human. They make mistakes. Breath Test Operators are human. They also make mistakes. Breath Test Inspectors are human. They too can make mistakes. The breath test machine isn’t perfect. It often makes mistakes and in some circumstances can be flat out wrong. The FL DUI Group knows DUI cases. The FL DUI Group knows the mistakes that occur in DUI cases and we will expose those mistakes to the judge and jury.

For those who may question this, consider the following Tampa TV news report:

When a law enforcement officer arrests someone for DUI and takes that person to the Hillsborough Orient Road Jail, we have seen there can be problems.

Wanda Sullivan, who was arrested for DUI, found that out when she was pulled from a chair and dragged across the floor. However, our 3-month investigation also shows there are problems with the way law enforcement authorities have used the breath testing machine, the Intoxilyzer 8000.

We ran a control test with DUI consultant Stephen Daniels, using the Intoxilyzer 8000. The result of the test had his blood alcohol at .000.

Then we had Daniels eat some Wonder Bread, and he blew a .033. Although still under the legal limit, Daniels was registering alcohol after only eating bread…

This isn’t the first time the accuracy of the breath testing machines and the way the Florida Department of Law Enforcement monitors them has been called in to question. Within the past year, an inspector had to be dismissed after she was caught telling other police agencies how to get around the guidelines if the machine failed the state-mandated test.

“We found that they actually fudge on the machines,” says defense attorney Richard Hersch.

We showed Hersch an inspection test from Hillsborough County on July 19 2007. The inspector logs in at 8:58 and then conducts that test a 9:06. The inspector then says the inspection was not completed, because of a power failure.

So the inspector performs another test at 9:41, and then logs back in at 9:43. The FDLE says doing that is impossible; you can’t inspect a machine after a power failure without re-logging in first.

“By turning it off, all of the failed inspection data didn’t get written to the memory. It disappeared,” Hersch explains.

That means a machine that could be out of tolerance could be used as evidence to convict you of a DUI, if you are pulled over and possibly under the legal limit.

FL DUI Group. Dedicated DUI Defense. It’s what we do.

There are many intricacies and misconceptions when it comes to DUI laws in the State of Florida. This is why it’s important that you have an experienced and dedicated DUI defense attorney on your side. If you’ve been arrested for DUI in Orlando, Central Florida or anywhere else in the State of Florida, contact the FL DUI Group today for your free case evaluation.