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Editor: Bob Battle
Profession: DUI Defense Lawyer

Category: DUI DUIrony

In Seattle's King County last week, district court judges ruled due to excessive "ethical lapses" and errors from the state toxicology lab, breath tests should not be admitted as evidence in court. Similar judicial rulings have been made in Spokane and Snohomish counties, according to the web site, dui-defender.net.

State's Toxicology Lab Losing Credibility

The lab's credibility came into question when the manager of the Washington State Toxicology Lab resigned in the summer of 2007. The manager was accused of lying about checking the lab's breath-test solutions to ensure accuracy. To that end, DUI attorneys in the state are questioning the ethics of the Washington State Patrol's Toxicology Lab.

Basically, it's all in the details and DUI defense attorneys in Washington State can thank its Supreme Court for checking.

State Supreme Court Weighs In

The state's high court recently voted unanimously to outlaw breath-test machine results as evidence in court if those devices haven't been calibrated correctly so as to reduce inaccurate readings.
The State University of New York at Potsdam Sociology Department reported that the machine's thermometers -- which must be functional to record accurate readings -- weren't properly maintained and that led to false readings in breath test results. The site said to reduce this problem, Washington state officials set regulation standards that required periodic checks of the machines' thermometers. Apparently that hasn't been done for years.
One Washington State prosecutor even admitted, "the rules have become our own worst enemy."