Indiana Case Tests Admissability of Breathalyzer Results
Posted on:6/1/2009
Written By: Chris Robideaux
| An Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that the results of an alcohol breath test given to a woman wearing a stainless steel stud in her pierced tongue is inadmissible in court. |
In a case certain to test the efficacy and legitimacy of breathalyzer tests, an Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that the results of an alcohol breath test given to a woman wearing a stainless steel stud in her pierced tongue is inadmissible in court. That’s because the stud is a foreign object in her mouth. State law specifically prohibits anyone from having any foreign object in the mouth within twenty minutes before the time a breath sample is taken. Spokespersons for the Indiana State Police and the Indianapolis Police Department refuse to reveal how their officers handle breath tests involving people with tongue studs. It would appear that law enforcement officers throughout the state have routinely been conducting breath tests in violation of the law and using the invalid results to obtain convictions.
It has also been shown that mouthwash will show up as strong alcohol reading, if used within an hour or so from the time of a breathalyzer test. It‘s very important to reduce drunk driving , but not at the expensive of violating the law to do so. An inaccurate reading is inadmissable evidence, whatever gung ho state troopers believe.
Research indicates that breath tests vary at least 15% from actual blood alcohol concentration. At least 23% (that's about one out of every four) of all individuals tested will have a BAC reading higher than their actual BAC. Therefore, many people convicted of DUI/DWI simply on the basis of a breath test results alone will be innocent drivers who are falsely convicted.
It‘s very important to reduce drunk driving, but not at the expensive of violating the law to do so. An inaccurate reading is inadmissable evidence, whatever gung ho state troopers believe.