Gurdev Singh: Ontario; (Aftermath 5): Flawed Intoxilyzer 8000C Breathalyzer case; Ottawa Citizen cautions that "shaky evidence should not be allowed to seep into the justice system."..."Drinking and driving is a serious charge, and it should be treated with due urgency. “Police need to properly make sure this stuff is working right,” urges Andrew Murie, the CEO of MADD Canada, and we agree. Ontarians are right to worry if loopholes allow drunk drivers to walk away. But they must also be concerned about the civil liberty implications if anyone is convicted on the basis of evidence that may be faulty. Victims and their families, as well as the accused in drunk driving cases, need fair trials. Shaky evidence cannot be allowed to seep into the justice system."

"Drinking and driving is a particularly reprehensible crime and, rightly, often earns stiff punishment. In a recent, high-profile Toronto-area case, for instance, Marco Muzzo was handed a 10-year prison sentence for killing three children and their grandfather while driving drunk. But a March ruling from a Brampton courthouse raises new concerns about the technology that helps convict these drivers. Breathalyzers, which measure blood alcohol levels, are used by police forces across the country, and their results are key evidence in Canadian courtrooms. But Ben Joseph, a former employee at the Centre of Forensic Sciences, which oversees breath testing in Ontario, testified as an expert in court that there was no way of knowing if the device used by the Peel Regional Police – an Intoxilyzer 8000C – was giving accurate readings. At issue are aberrations in maintenance data and the statistical accuracy standard in the machine. The judge agreed that the breath tester was unreliable, and tossed out the case. The Crown has appealed the ruling. This raises a stark question: Are the machines used elsewhere in Ontario accurate, or not?.........But police maintain they are confident. Sgt. John Kiss, with the Ottawa police, says the “Intoxilyzer 8000C was an approved instrument … because the scientists were satisfied” with the instrument. “I’m not concerned, let’s put it that way.”.........Drinking and driving is a serious charge, and it should be treated with due urgency. “Police need to properly make sure this stuff is working right,” urges Andrew Murie, the CEO of MADD Canada, and we agree.   Ontarians are right to worry if loopholes allow drunk drivers to walk away. But they must also be concerned about the civil liberty implications if anyone is convicted on the basis of evidence that may be faulty. Victims and their families, as well as the accused in drunk driving cases, need fair trials. Shaky evidence cannot be allowed to seep into the justice system."
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-brampton-drinking-and-driving-ruling-may-have-wide-implications