Ask any DUI attorney in Phoenix. All too often, the methods at which they base alcohol tests simply are not scientific. Considering that a breathalyzer is the biggest thing to determine guilt or innocence in a DUI case, it is critical that the information they reveal be 100% correct and dependable in the eyes of a jury. Not only must the science be reliable, but so should the standards of those who conduct it. Many of these lab technicians have a “convict at all costs” mentality, often falsifying results in an effort to sway the jury against the client of a DUI attorney in Phoenix.
The Dangers of Inaccurate Alcohol Testing
Evidence presented as scientifically accurate is most often taken by a jury to be irrefutable. In many cases, scientific evidence outweighs witness credibility, police statements, and other forms of evidence. Once a jury accepts something as a fact, it is hard for the defense to sway them otherwise. When scientific testing loses its accuracy, it loses its courtroom validation. Alcohol tests need to be 100% reliable because of the importance a jury will place on deciding the case. The very fate of suspect may come down to the accuracy of the lab testing.
Simulator and Breath Testing Solutions
Breath testing machines utilize infrared spectroscopy- an infrared beam of known intensity that passes through a sample of the individual’s breath. Any possible alcohol is then absorbed at specific wave lengths. A detector analyzes the beam after the breath sample and compares its final intensity with the level it started out with. If done correctly, the decrease in intensity at “ethanol wavelengths” makes it possible to quantify BAC, though the results still have a small degree of uncertainty that might be contended by a DUI attorney in Phoenix.
The result of any measurement is only an approximation of the quantity actually being measured. When the true value is needed, bias becomes problematic and can give a DUI attorney in Phoenix something to work with in planning a defense. A result is only complete when the bias of an instrument has been determined and the results thereby corrected for that bias. If the prosecution fails to correct for bias, a the defense can more readily challenge the evidence as 100% reliable.
Forensic scientists must know the relevant information as they affect the computations before the trial and must disclose this to both the prosecution and the DUI attorney in Phoenix prior to the trial.
A reference material that includes a substance whose properties are sufficiently well known is calibrated through the machine and tested for accuracy. These known traceable standards are called stimulator solutions. Simulators provide crucial safeguards for accurate breath test results. Challenging the accuracy of a simulator may be another strategy a DUI attorney in Phoenix might use to insert doubt against the prosecution’s arguments.
A DUI attorney in Phoenix does his or her client a great service by seriously examining how samples were collected and how the test was performed. If contaminants, incorrect sample sizes, or inaccurate bias are not taken into account, the prosecution has serious holes it its evidence that can be exploited. By inserting doubt in the core evidence, your client can most likely avoid a guilty conviction.
About the Author
David Michael Cantor is an AV rated (the highest possible rating) lawyer and a Certified Criminal Law Specialist per the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization. For more information about an Phoenix DUI Attorney, visit our site.