Technology: Flawed breathalyzer tests: 'Car and Driver' reports (Staff Editor) Colin Beresford) that calibration problems exist across the USA (and who knows where else? HL) with a focus on DUI tests in Michigan which may be 'thrown out' because of bad breathalizer maintenance..."A New York Times investigation in November found that breathalyzer tests can be unreliable if the equipment is not properly calibrated. As its headline put it, "These Machines Can Put You in Jail. Don’t Trust Them." The Times noted that in just the past year, more than 30,000 breathalyzer results have been thrown out of court in Massachusetts and New Jersey "largely because of human errors and lax governmental oversight." Michigan is a case in point. It has been added to the list of states with issues in their breathalyzer tests after the Michigan State Police (MSP) found that the Datamaster DMT breath-testing equipment it uses is not being properly calibrated."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "As of Thursday, January 16, the MSP had found eight
locations where discrepancies had been found in the breathalyzer
results, putting 52 completed drunk-driving tests in jeopardy. Of those,
according to the report, half of the tests are suspected to be
defective, calling the bad maintenance work "a possible criminal act."
The Michigan State Police's Col. Joseph Gasper testified before the
Michigan Senate late last week that the police suspect instrument
calibration tests were "fabricated." Lt. Mike Shaw told a reporter for WXYZ
in Detroit that the testing company is believed to have done "some type
of falsification of documents, from cutting and pasting to just
outright using different machines and not doing what they're supposed to
be doing." The drunk-driving convictions related to those results could
be tossed out, as Detroit's WXYZ reported this weekend."
STORY: "DUI Tests May Be Thrown Out over Bad Breathalyzer Maintenance," by reporter Colin Beresford, published by Car and Driver on January 19, 2020.
SUB-HEADING: "Michigan State Police
found a flaw in drunk-driving test equipment and suspended its use,
putting 52 cases in jeopardy, and it's a problem all over the U.S."
PREFACE:
The Michigan State Police has found
problems with results from the breathalyzer it uses statewide, blaming
the company that's supposed to maintain and calibrate them.
MSP
is checking the equipment itself now and has recertified the use of 37
of the 203 machines. Meanwhile, they're suggesting police perform blood
tests instead of breath tests.
In November, the New York Times conducted an investigation, finding that issues with breathalyzers are commonplace across the county.
GIST: "The
breathalyzer test has been an accepted part of the battle against drunk
driving and results treated like gospel for more than half a century;
the first breathalyzer was invented way back in 1954. Its use has been
documented to reduce deaths
from drunken-driving incidents. But now, the integrity of the test
equipment itself is being called into question across the country. A New York Times investigation
in November found that breathalyzer tests can be unreliable if the
equipment is not properly calibrated. As its headline put it, "These
Machines Can Put You in Jail. Don’t Trust Them." The Times noted that in just the past year, more than 30,000 breathalyzer results have been thrown out of court in Massachusetts and New Jersey "largely because of human errors and lax governmental oversight." Michigan
is a case in point. It has been added to the list of states with issues
in their breathalyzer tests after the Michigan State Police (MSP) found
that the Datamaster DMT breath-testing equipment it uses is not being
properly calibrated. The Michigan State Police opened a statewide
investigation after finding reporting issues by employees at
Intoximeter, the vendor of the Datamaster DMT breathalyzers used in
Michigan and the company contracted to maintain and calibrate the
machines. The Intoximeter employees are accused of having falsified
records about their inspection work on the breathalyzers. The MSP
noticed an irregularity in a sheriff's department breathalyzer "during a
routine audit of documents submitted by the vendor for the prior
two-week period" in early January, according to MSP. Shortly thereafter, MSP took all 203 Datamaster DMT breathalyzers out of service and decided to test their accuracy in-house. As of Thursday, January 16, the MSP had found eight
locations where discrepancies had been found in the breathalyzer
results, putting 52 completed drunk-driving tests in jeopardy. Of those,
according to the report, half of the tests are suspected to be
defective, calling the bad maintenance work "a possible criminal act."
The Michigan State Police's Col. Joseph Gasper testified before the
Michigan Senate late last week that the police suspect instrument
calibration tests were "fabricated." Lt. Mike Shaw told a reporter for WXYZ
in Detroit that the testing company is believed to have done "some type
of falsification of documents, from cutting and pasting to just
outright using different machines and not doing what they're supposed to
be doing." The drunk-driving convictions related to those results could be tossed out, as Detroit's WXYZ reported this weekend. Meanwhile,
MSP has since recalibrated and recertified 37 machines itself, of a
total of 203 in use across the state, and aims to have all of the
breathalyzers returned to service by the end of next month. Until the
breathalyzers are certain to be back and working correctly, MSP has
recommended that police agencies in the state utilize blood draws to
test for drunk driving."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.""
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
Two Blogs Now: The Charles Smith Blog; The Selfless Warriors Blog: I created the Charles Smith Blog in 2007 after I retired from The Toronto Star to permit me to keep digging into the story of the flawed pathologist and the harm he had done to so many innocent parents and caregivers, and to Ontario’s criminal justice system. Since then it has taken new directions, including examinations of other flawed pathologists, flawed pathology, and flawed science and technology which has marred the quality of justice in courtrooms around the world. The heart of the Blog is my approach to following cases which raise issues in all of these areas - especially those involving the death penalty. I have dedicated 'The Selfless Warrior Blog’ (soon to appear) to those exceptional individuals who have been ripped out of their ordinary lives by their inability to stand by in the face of a glaring miscarriage of justice. They are my ’Selfless Warriors.’ Enjoy!
