Total DUI

Hundreds of people awaiting trial for Washington DUI in Seattle Municipal Court just became a step closer to beating the charges.  A recent court ruling has barred the results of all breath tests given before December 18, 2007 from being used against the defendants in court.  Generally DUI cases without blood alcohol concentration readings are often harder to prosecute, but the court found that all of the breath tests conducted prior to mid-December may have delivered inaccurate readings.  The breath test machines were brought up to date and determined to be accurate as of December 18, 2007 according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Of course the Seattle City Attorney is none too happy about losing the teeth of many of the Washington DUI cases on the docket and plans to appeal the decision.  Even without the breath tests results, Tom Carr says that only a small number of the DUI cases will be dismissed.  Without the breath test evidence there are still field sobriety tests, dash cam videos and other evidence available to help prove that the defendants were driving while impaired.

The toxicology lab that conducts the breath tests in Seattle has been under fire since last summer when the lab manager was suspected of signing off on scientific tests that had not actually been conducted.  From there it only got worse and the lab policies and procedures were then questioned and challenged, as was the software used by the breath test machines.  Four judges found that no one at the toxicology lab ever checked to make sure that the breath test machine data was being calculated correctly.

Because of the botched breath tests, not only are all the DUI suspects awaiting trial in Seattle off the hook for their breath test results, but going back three years, everyone who has been convicted of Washington DUI based on breath test evidence from this lab may now have grounds for an appeal.