[paolo]

DUI Defendants Skip Charge By Asking How Test Works
SANFORD - Hundreds of cases involving breath-alcohol tests have been thrown out by Seminole County judges in the past five months because the test's manufacturer will not disclose how the machines work.
All four of Seminole County's criminal judges have been using a standard that if a DUI defendant asks for a key piece of information about how the machine works - its software source code, for instance - and the state cannot provide it, the breath test is rejected, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors have said they do not know how many drunken drivers have been acquitted as a result. But Gino Feliciani, the misdemeanor division chief in the Seminole County State Attorney's Office, said the conviction rate has dropped to 50 percent or less.

Seminole judges have been following the lead of county Judge Donald Marblestone, who in January ruled that although the information may be a trade secret and controlled by a private contractor, defendants are entitled to it.

``Florida cannot contract away the statutory rights of its citizens,'' the judge wrote.

Judges in other counties have said the opposite: The state cannot turn over something it does not possess, and the manufacturer should not have to turn over trade secrets.



Link: http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGBUBJ5QK9E.html

[Raine]

Not cool. I don't see how this should have a bearing on a DUI conviction. Who cares how it works, the state and it's police dept. know it works from proven test results. The end justifies the means when it comes to functional equipment in this circumstance. Get the assholes off the road

[OAC_Sparky]

Raine,Oct 24 2005, 06:24 PM Wrote:Not cool. I don't see how this should have a bearing on a DUI conviction. Who cares how it works, the state and it's police dept. know it works from proven test results. The end justifies the means when it comes to functional equipment in this circumstance. Get the assholes off the road
[right][snapback]151209[/snapback][/right]

While I agree on principle, the question is well within legal limits. It comes down to the basic right to a fair trial and that evidence collected has to be done fairly and accurately.

Let's put it into another example. An OPP airplane is tracking you on the highway, when you pass the first pre-determined mark on the highway, he starts his stopwatch, and when you pass the second mark, he stops it. Then he calculates out what your speed is.

It would make a big difference if he was using a Longines stopwatch as opposed to my kid's toy clock that gains 10 minutes every hour. That would make it appear that you are moving faster than you are.

So you are well within your right to ask "What kind of timepiece was he using?" and ask that its accuracy could be verified.

Especially if, in the case of a DUI conviction, you were going to lose your license for years and the expenses that go along with it.

[Frost__2001]

OAC_Sparky,Oct 25 2005, 01:31 AM Wrote:

Raine,Oct 24 2005, 06:24 PM Wrote:Not cool. I don't see how this should have a bearing on a DUI conviction. Who cares how it works, the state and it's police dept. know it works from proven test results. The end justifies the means when it comes to functional equipment in this circumstance. Get the assholes off the road
[right][snapback]151209[/snapback][/right]

While I agree on principle, the question is well within legal limits. It comes down to the basic right to a fair trial and that evidence collected has to be done fairly and accurately.

Let's put it into another example. An OPP airplane is tracking you on the highway, when you pass the first pre-determined mark on the highway, he starts his stopwatch, and when you pass the second mark, he stops it. Then he calculates out what your speed is.

It would make a big difference if he was using a Longines stopwatch as opposed to my kid's toy clock that gains 10 minutes every hour. That would make it appear that you are moving faster than you are.

So you are well within your right to ask "What kind of timepiece was he using?" and ask that its accuracy could be verified.

Especially if, in the case of a DUI conviction, you were going to lose your license for years and the expenses that go along with it.
[right][snapback]151261[/snapback][/right]

Good point. :mellow:

[paolo]

I'm not encouraging people to go out and get drunk and attempt to drive while under the influence, but I AM by posting this article stating that even the LAW ENFORCEMENT can mess up at times too... and it is the citizen's right to know about this. I wouldnt use this if I was going to attempt to drink and drive, but I WOULD be more likely to use this process to question speeding infractions, there are a lot of times where the cop will NOT show you his gun and even if he did, how do u know the clocked speed on it was not from a previous speeder that he kept? Some cops are shady too, remember that.

[NOS2Go4Me]

Well in Canada, we're pwnt when we get in the car and fire it up. We have no recourse when we're clocked as speeding.

I had a ticket about 5 years ago now, same thing. I slowed down when I saw him (yes I was well over), he said I ACCELERATED and clocked me at the supposed accelerated speed. I balked, went to court... and lost. There's no justice, at least not in Canada.