Taimoor Rana is seasoned criminal defense attorney specializing in DUI related cases. He shares his expert legal opinion here The National College for DUI Defense »
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- Until a few years ago, those attorneys who attempt to defend a client who is having against drunk driving charges were general practitioners. These attorneys had little, if any, understanding of the nature of the offense. They were not familiar with such methods of DUI investigation such as as field sobriety tests, and seminars on how to defend these clients were almost completely lacking.
The most important thing was that, defense lawyers doesn’t know anything about the complexities of blood alcohol analysis, whether of blood, breath or urine. They don’t know the answers to the following questions that how does the Breathalyzer work? What does infrared analysis referred to? What is Gas chromatography? How is the metabolism of alcohol takes place in the human body? What is the "Widmark’s formula"? what is Hematocrit? What is "retrograde extrapolation" and how does it work? What are those physiological variables that can occur between individuals? What are those medical conditions that can effect a breath reading and how? What could happen if in case blood samples ferment or coagulate?
There is an involvement of knowledge of such highly technical fields as physiology, organic chemistry, physics, biophysics, electrical engineering in the chemical analysis of blood, breath or urine but these are the subjects that are far beyond the experience and training of lawyers.
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10 DWI/DUI Myths and Their Facts – Part-3 »
Myth # 8:
Law enforcement officers can’t influence the BAC reading of a breath-testing machine.
Fact:
Law enforcement officers can and do influence BAC readings. Law professor and lawyer Lawrence Taylor quotes Dr. Michael Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington. He said that, By far, the error which is most overlooked in breath testing for alcohol is the pattern of breathing…. During the breath the concentration of alcohol changes considerably… After discarding the dead space, the first part of the breath, has an alcohol concentration much lower than the equivalent BAC. Whereas, the alcohol concentration of the last part of the breath is much higher than the equivalent BAC. The last part of the breath could be over 50% above the alcohol level….Thus, it maybe indicated by a breath tester reading of 0.14% which has been taken from the last part of the breath that the blood level is only 0.09%.
It has been explained by Professor Taylor that, many police officers are aware of this error. They also know that if the machine opposes their judgment that the person they arrested is intoxicated, then it will effect their reputation.
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