Pittsburgh DUI Attorney
Intoxilyzer 5000
The breath-test machine used in Pennsylvania is the Intoxilyzer 5000, a machine so flawed it is being challenged in state courts from coast to coast. Pittsburgh criminal lawyer, Blaine Jones, has closely followed the issues from the beginning. Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have been forced to notify hundreds of defendants that their breath test results may have been inaccurate, thereby casting serious doubt about their guilt.
In Philadelphia, 1,500 cases were vacated after half of the city's breath testing machines were found to be inaccurate. Vermont may also vacate hundreds of cases. And the Intoxilyzer 5000 is under legal challenge in Minnesota. Hundreds of cases have been tossed in Washington, D.C., where the machine has been found to be so inaccurate that law enforcement has stopped using it. Challenges are also underway in Georgia and Arizona.
Pittsburgh DUI Arrests and False Breathalyzer Results
Those facing a drunk driving arrest in Pittsburgh should seek out a law firm with the knowledge and experience to challenge test results. Testing has been found to be faulty on a number of points:
- The machine does not, to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, accurately report BAC levels. In fact, a test result of .08 or above cannot be used to show a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above.
- So-called "safeguards" simply don't work, despite being put in place to protect defendants from this junk science. The machine quite simply cannot do what it purports to do – that is accurately measure whether someone is driving with a BAC of .08 or above. In fact, it reports the presence of alcohol when a clean air sample is measured.
- The machine also fails tests meant to differentiate between alcohol and other substances.
- Critical elements of the machine may be nonfunctioning without raising red flags. That means heating elements and detectors meant to identify interfering substances may not function properly during testing.
- Defendants are facing charges of test refusal because the machine malfunctions and rates given samples as deficient.
If you've been charged with driving under the influence, call Pittsburgh DUI defense attorney Blaine Jones for a confidential consultation.