4 ms·
If breathalyzers were inaccurate, uncalibrated, or unmaintained it would be trivial to get any conviction relying on their measurements thrown out.
by ac29 7y ago
If breathalyzers were inaccurate, uncalibrated, or unmaintained it would be trivial to get any conviction relying on their measurements thrown out.
- monocasa 7y agoWhat makes you say that?
- edmundsauto 7y agoOnly if you're allowed to test the devices in question, and the courts believe your experts over the manufacturers. This doesn't prove my point, but manufacturers do aggressively fight against researchers identifying flaws in their products. Given the high stakes (+ the fact this isn't a security issue, really), it seems like a major smell to me. There are reports out there of people convicted, who are blocked from examining the devices used as the primary piece of evidence against them. Also, after years of effort to discredit breathalyzer results, convictions ARE being overturned regularly. NJ overturns > 27k convictions because of breathalyzer issues - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/nyregion/nj-dwi-convictions-court.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/nyregion/nj-dwi-convictio... MS judge suspends admission of breathalyzer evidence -- https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/01/10/breathalyzers-temporarily-not-admissible-in-court-judge-rules/ https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/01/10/breathalyzers-tempor... More relevant info - https://www.zdnet.com/article/draeger-breathalyzer-breath-test-convictions/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/draeger-breathalyzer-breath-te...
- jayd16 7y agoNothing about the court system is trivial.
- fragmede 7y agoMind you, that's not unprecedented. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/05/buggy-breathalyzer-code-reflects-importance-of-source-review/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/05/buggy-breathalyz...