"Thousands of impaired-driving sentences across Canada could be called
into question after an Ontario judge found that a common type of
breathalyzer test was inaccurate. Legal experts say the ruling could set a powerful precedent for
impaired-driving cases and change the way police test for blood-alcohol
content throughout the country. The ruling centres around a 2014 case in which Peel Regional Police arrested a driver who blew well over the legal limit. However, a defence lawyer and accompanying scientific expert convinced
the judge that the breathalyzer device at the police station -- the
Intoxilyzer 8000C -- was intrinsically flawed. The judge sided with the defence and dismissed the charges. “You can bet that there are defence lawyers everywhere saying, ‘Wait a
sec, I want my turn at this same argument,’” legal analyst Edward
Prutschi told CTV Toronto.........In a statement to CTV News, the U.S.-based company that makes the
Intoxilyzer says the instruments are approved and used “in many countries throughout the world.”... “CMI stands behind the accuracy and integrity of its breath testing instruments,” said the statement..........Toronto’s police chief raised questions about the judge’s decision. “I’m not sure what the judge’s background is in science, and we’ll see
what science says in respect to those comments,” Toronto Police Chief
Mark Saunders said."
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/widely-used-breathalyzer-deemed-inaccurate-by-ontario-judge-1.2884620