Taimoor Rana is seasoned criminal defense attorney specializing in DUI related cases. He shares his expert legal opinion here « 10 DWI/DUI Myths and Their Facts – Part – 2
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- In the previous part you must have read few myths and their facts. This is the next part of the article about myths and facts of DUI/DWI. In this article also you will read about some other myths and facts of DUI/DWI cases.
Myth # 6:
It is believed that the breathalyzers and other breath testers are accurate.
Fact:
There are too many sources of error in breath testers. These errors affect the result of these breathalyzers test.
Quit Smoking or Get Ready for DUI Arrest
You should consider this thing. In our breath a compound named acetaldehyde is present that is falsely recorded as alcohol by breath analyzers.
The most important that tobacco smokers must know is the fact that the levels of acetaldehyde in their lungs are much, much higher than those in the lungs of non-smokers. This means that the possibility of false high readings on a Breathalyzer or other machine is greater for smokers.
So with this there comes another reason due to which the smokers should quit smoking and that reason is the danger of arrest and false conviction of DWI/DUI. So I must advise the smokers to quit smoking before they are arrested for DUI/DWI.
Even if there are no such problems and all the conditions are ideal, then also, alcohol breath testers simply lack the accuracy. It was explained by the law professor and attorney Lawrence Taylor that Scientists universally have recognized an inherent error in breath analysis, generally this error is of plus or minus .01%.
What it means is that under ideal conditions, which happens rarely, an actual BAC of anywhere from .07 to .09 or even .065 to .095 is reflected by a BAC reading of .08. That is a margin of error of 20 to 30 percent.
For an accountant, airline pilot, or bank teller, would this be considered a reasonable margin of error? Is this a reasonable margin of error in court, where it is needed that guilt should be proved beyond a reasonable doubt?
Myth # 7:
A person who is accused of DWI or DUI has the right to demand a jury trial in order to argue about the results of a BAC estimator machine, with its “ideal conditions” 20-30 percent margin of error, especially if you have got some good reasons to question the accuracy of the results.
Fact:
It is a fundamental right given in English Law to request a jury trial since it was considered so much essential by the Magna Carta and the framers of the United States Constitution that they included it in the Bill of Rights. It has been stated in the Sixth Amendment that:
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…”
The Sixth Amendment provides this fundamental right to everyone without any exceptions who are a suspect of any criminal case to request a trial by jury.
Although you may have many types of overwhelming evidences and from many sources that prove that your BAC reading is not true and that you are innocent of DWI, many states will not accept your demand of a jury trial.
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