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Lawyers Win Access to DUI Test Software


Tucson, AZ.  Sept 13 -  Defense attorneys scored a major victory Friday when a Pima County Superior Court judge ruled they should be given access to the software that powers a breath-testing machine used on suspected drunken drivers.
For the past several months, defense attorneys throughout the county have been arguing that they should be given the “source code,” or software, used in the Intoxilyzer 8000.
The attorneys say the source code is needed to determine whether breath tests administered by the Tucson Police Department and the University of Arizona Police Department are accurate and reliable. (The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety take blood samples.)
The defense attorneys maintain the issue is a constitutional one; defendants have the right to cross-examine and confront their accusers.
Prosecutors have maintained that experts have other ways to determine if the test results are reliable. They also say the source code is a trade secret and shouldn’t be disclosed.
On Friday, Judge Deborah Bernini ruled that the source code is not a trade secret. She noted that the president of CMI, the company that manufactures the machine, testified that the Intoxilyzer 8000 is not patented, and neither is its copyright on the source code.
Bernini ordered CMI to turn over the source code to attorney James Nesci, who is the lead counsel on all of the cases…
City Court judges have split on the issue, with six siding with the defense attorneys, two siding with prosecutors and one not yet issuing a ruling. Justice Court judges have refrained from issuing any rulings, preferring to wait for Bernini to issue her ruling.
In the City Court cases, the judges not only ruled that the defense attorneys should have been given the source code, but they prohibited prosecutors from using breath-test results against about 170 defendants…
“An inaccurate machine is of no benefit to anyone,” Nesci said. “Inaccurate results could mean imprisonment for innocent people and exoneration for the guilty. People have the right to know how these machines get their results.”
Pima County attorneys aren’t the only ones battling with CMI, the producer of the Intoxilyzer 8000, Nesci said.
Law enforcement officers across Arizona began using the Intoxilyzer 8000 last year, Nesci said.
Police like the device because it weighs half of what its predecessor weighs and can be powered by a squad car’s cigarette lighter, Nesci said.
Six other states have been battling CMI over the source code — Minnesota, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee and New Jersey.
“CMI has currently racked up over $1.2 million (in fines) in a civil contempt order for not disclosing the source code” in Florida, Nesci said.
The machine also failed to meet precision and accuracy testing in Tennessee, so law-enforcement agencies there are prohibited from using it, Nesci said.
For more information about how MIami DUI Lawyer Jonathan Blecher can help defend YOUR case, call us or visit our website.
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DUI Suspects May Go Free Due to Questionable Arrest Reports


Many DUI Task Force police officers are using pre-written arrest reports in drunk driving cases.  They are writing out reports including driving symptoms, slurred speech, failed field sobriety tests, admissions of drinking and then just filling in the names, dates, etc., when they actually make an arrest. 
 

Orlando, FL  November 16 — Channel 9 Investigates has uncovered dozens of DUI suspects that may go free because sheriff’s deputies appear to be using pre-written arrest reports.

There are some experts who believe this may even amount to perjury. When a deputy makes a DUI bust, the officer writes an arrest report. It’s the official record of what the deputy says happened. But Eyewitness News has uncovered dozens of Orange County DUI arrest reports that apparently have come from pre-written templates.

One report, for instance, says the suspect “stumbled slightly when walking and swayed moderately … with a three inch to five inch orbital rotation/sway.” At least ten reports, written by the same deputy over a six-month period, use the exact same phrase. Even reports written by other deputies contain that exact phrase.

In many reports, the deputy noticed the “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage within my interior cab.” That exact phrase appears in report after report. And it’s there whether the suspect’s blood alcohol content was anywhere from .03 to .16.  9 Investigates found 11 other reports, written by a different deputy, that use those exact words, again, no matter how much the suspect had to drink.

“It just doesn’t smell right,” said DUI defense attorney Stu Hyman. “It’s a sad state of affairs when somebody hasn’t even committed the offense yet, but the report has already been written.”

9 Investigates found one deputy whose suspects always do an “orbital rotation” and always “counter-clockwise.” Five deputies always leave their suspects in the car for exactly five minutes before smelling alcohol. In one case, a suspect was described as “he/she.”

It all leads Hyman to believe the reports were pre-written.

“Why is it that everyone is swaying three to five inches? Why isn’t it two to eight? Why not one to seven inches?” questioned Hyman….

9 Investigates found court testimony where a deputy indicated the sheriff’s office has computer DUI templates. The deputy testified, “I’ve been told people use them. I just choose not to.”

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LARGE D.U.I CHECKPOINTS ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND


More than 200 South Florida law enforcement officers took part in Hands Across the Border, the largest DUI checkpoint and roadblock in Florida’s history. The center point of the aggressive tactic was set up on 441 at County Line Road. Other checkpoints were to be scattered across South Florida during the weekend.

Here is a link to the CBS4 Miami video:

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=61300@wfor.dayport.com

A heavy DUI checkpoint saturation like this may result in more DUI arrests overall, but the amount of arrests versus the amount of drivers stopped and interrogated is minimal. An experienced Miami DUI Lawyer can uncover constitutional defects in the police procedures used at these checkpoints.

We will publish the results of this crackdown in a subsequent post.

 

 

 

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MADD Volunteers for DUI Enforcement


Pilot Program Launches Labor Day Weekend in Florida

In a “first in the nation” pilot program developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Manatee County Sheriff, Brad Steube, announced in a press conference earlier this week, that his sheriff’s department was partnering with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In a unique program that puts specially trained MADD observers on the road to observe traffic and report potential drunk drivers, MADD and the Sheriff’s office are committed to saving lives and preventing injuries.

 ”MADD’s Traffic Observation Program, or T.O.P., is the first such MADD program in the nation,” stated MADD Volunteer Leader, LaVonne Bower, who is managing the program in Manatee County. “Teams of two will be on the road observing traffic to report signs of possible impaired driving to the Sheriff’s department. Our observers have received specialized training that includes classroom instruction and a minimum of six hours of ride-a-long training with certified DUI officers. They will observe all traffic laws and will make no effort to stop or interact with the subject vehicles,” continued Bower…

MADD is out of control, hence the term “MADD”. They have been doing this for some time now and it wont stop.

If you need an experienced Miami DUI Attorney or Miami DUI Lawyer, please call us at 306.670.1800.

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