Tag Archives: breath test

As we all know, or should know, our laws are born with legislation sponsored by our Tennessee State Senators and Representatives. Accordingly, it is an incumbent upon all of us to keep track of what laws are being introduced, or need to be introduced, so that we can provide feedback to our legislators. In this article, I want to provide you with information relating to two Senate bills relating to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws that are pending before ... Read More »

Birchfield involves a trilogy of cases dealing with criminalizing a refusal to submit to a blood or breath test in  DUI prosecutions. The Birchfield holding was significantly different as it distinguishes prosecutions of breath and blood refusals. The Birchfield Court held that you could criminalize the refusal to take a breath test in DUI prosecution because it was not coercive. Giving a breath test involves no intrusion into your body. The same could not be said for a refusal to ... Read More »

What are the requirements for the admission of the intoxilizer breath tests in DUI cases? This question has been litigated for years. To some extent, the standards have been modified and changed. The intoxilizer is obviously subject to a Daubert attack.  Johnson v. Commonwealth has held that breath testing may not be flawless; however, it has been determined for years to have sufficient reliability to be admissible in evidence and to sustain a conviction. 12 SW 3d 258, 262 (Ky. ... Read More »

In Missouri driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases, police officers are required to follow certain standards. Standards are in place in an attempt to bring some degree of scientific certainty to testing procedures. Breath testing machines have been subject to weak oversight regarding testing standards. The result can be wrongful convictions. The Missouri Code of State Regulations (19 CSR 25-30) specifies the standards that should be followed when testing the accuracy of breath testing devices. If the standards are not followed, ... Read More »

WKMG-TV-Orlando, FL, Daniel Dahm,  Digital Content Manager. Published: March 22, 2021, 12:42 pm A Polk County Sheriff’s Office detention deputy was arrested Saturday on a charge of DUI. Michaela Butler, 25, was arrested in unincorporated Arcadia by the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office after she registered a blood alcohol level of 0.09, above the legal limit of 0.08. Read Full Article Consistent with many interactions citizens have with police during a roadside DUI stop, it’s pretty clear that officers have human frailties ... Read More »

A TV news investigation by CBS4 in Denver, Colorado has revealed that some DUI criminal cases as well as some potential drivers license suspension hearings have been dismissed because police have refused to provide suspects with a breath test. Some officers are reluctant to administer breath tests because of their concern for their own safety. Unlike some other states (such as Tennessee), Colorado law allows a DUI suspect to be given the choice of a breath test or blood test ... Read More »

by: Amy Phillips Posted: Feb 2, 2021 CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP)–A Massachusetts court has ordered that defendants in drunk driving convictions be notified that they can return to court and request that their conviction be overturned in the appropriate circumstances. Twenty-seven thousand notices will be sent to individuals across the state who were prosecuted with a breath test result. In January 2019, after learning of the intentional misconduct of the Office of Alcohol Testing (OAT), the Court held that a class ... Read More »

In March I, with the other members of the public, began hearing of a possible virus coming around. Covid 19 or Corona virus, both meaning the virus that presumably “escaped” from Wuhan, China was invading our country. Flights started getting banned, people started getting quarantined, and then suddenly, every-day items like bathroom tissue, paper towels and bottled water flew off the store shelves and became scarce.  Bars and restaurants were ordered by the government to shut down. Well, the obvious ... Read More »

Regular readers of this blog know that I try to keep them informed about new methods of detecting marijuana (THC) in the body of drivers.  For instance, you may wish to review my 2019 post here and my 2015 post here.  In addition to breath tests, a saliva test has now been studied.  If perfected, this method will likely be used by law-enforcement officers as part of their investigatory procedures to determine if someone is driving under the influence of ... Read More »

According to an article published in Prosperous, a team from the University of Pittsburgh, including Dr. Ervin Sejdic, has created a breath testing device that can trace levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a person’s breath. THC is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. These researchers developed it through the use of carbon nanotubes, which are miniscule tubes of carbon 100,000x tinier than a human hair. According to this news article, the cannabinoid THC as well as other ... Read More »