Tag Archives: OUI

Hawaiian legislators are again considering lowering Hawaii’s “legal” blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from 0.08% to 0.05% according to KITV, Channel 4 in Honolulu.  According to a news report, State Sen. Angus McKelvey has introduced such a bill.  Utah is the only other state in the nation with such a low per se alcohol level. Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance Director Rick Collins said about 30% of car crashes in Hawaii involve alcohol. But does that mean that drivers with alcohol levels ... Read More »

Substantiating British research from many years ago, a car crash study reported on May 20, 2019 in the online version of the journal Addiction, found no statistically significant relationship between drivers testing positive for Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or other drugs and those who did not in contributing to a motor vehicle collisions. The study was based on 3005 injured drivers and police reports on 2318.  In particular, the findings found no statistically significant relationship between testing positive for THC and the risk ... Read More »

Have you ever wondered whether a police officer needs to request a search warrant when attempting to obtain a blood sample from an unconscious suspected drunk driver?  The United States Supreme Court recently answered that question.  The Court agreed that there is no question that our Fourth Amendment constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures applies when blood is taken from the body of a person suspected of driving under the influence (DUI, DWI, or OUI). However, the Court was ... Read More »

Alcohol that makes you feel drunk without a hangover may be available within five years. Today’s generation has become more health conscious than generations before, causing a decline in alcohol sales in many countries. Therefore, the market for a healthier alcohol alternative is on the rise. This market interest in a healthier alcohol alternative has caught the attention of Scientist David Nutt. Nutt is a professor from England, famous for his research on how psychedelics affect the brain.  His latest ... Read More »

It is no secret. DUI arrests have decreased across the country by at least 30% during the last two to three years. It is no coincidence that the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Birchfield v. North Dakota (2016) was decided about the same time as DUI arrests began their decrease. You can read more about how Birchfield affects DUI search warrants here. Police officers have confidentially complained that since the Birchfield decision, it takes too long to legally obtain blood ... Read More »

Massachusetts defense attorneys and prosecutors have reached a tentative agreement, pending approval and modification by the court, regarding sanctions imposed against the government for refusing to disclose court-ordered evidence during state-wide litigation challenging the reliability of the Dräger 9510 breath test machines. Under a previous court order, breath tests results were presumptively excluded from evidence at trial if the machine had last been calibrated between June 1, 2011 and September 14, 2014. As a result of government misconduct, however, where ... Read More »

According to an August 16, 2018 Salem News article, prosecutors across Massachusetts have agreed to stop using the results of the breath test from 2011 through 2017 over concerns of calibration issues. What is more disturbing is that officials attempted to hide these issues from both defense lawyers and prosecutors. Apparently a laboratory employee had not calibrated the devices, Draeger models 9510, to the proper range for margin of error. This ultimately resulted in the dismissal of more then 34,000 ... Read More »

Imagine you are pulled over and suspected of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI or DWI). The Officer decides he has probable cause to arrest you for DUI, and pursuant to your state’s implied consent law, he requests that you provide a sample of urine to determine the alcohol and/or drug contents in your system. Again, he specifically requests a urine test, not a breath test or a blood test to determine the amount of alcohol, prescribed medication, ... Read More »

The hearing regarding the scientific reliability of the Draeger Alcotest 9510 breath test machines concluded with closing arguments on Friday, February 3. The defense bar argued that because the relevant statute states that simply driving with a .08 blood alcohol concentration, as measured by the 9510 machine, is enough for a conviction, regardless of the tolerance an individual driver may have or any effect on their driving, the reliability of the machines should be subject to the highest scrutiny. The ... Read More »

On Friday, February 3, the final day of hearings regarding the scientific reliability of the Draeger Alcotest 9510 breath test machines, a representative from Draeger testified that a previously unknown error appears to have been caused because the machines were programmed to use an incorrect value during performance checks and calibration. The 9510 machines use two sensors to measure blood alcohol: An infrared sensor, as required by statute, and an electro-chemical fuel cell. During calibration, the measurements of the two ... Read More »