Alcohol Breath Tests From the Intoxilyzer 8000 Questioned in Ohio

June 30, 2012 (Press-News.org) Several years ago, the state of Ohio began a search funded by a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant. Officials were looking for a single type of breath alcohol testing instrument that could replace the hodgepodge of different machines in use at the time. In 2007, the state of Ohio contracted with CMI, Inc. to purchase 700 Intoxilyzer 8000 breath alcohol testing machines at a cost of over $6 million.

Approved for use in Ohio OVI cases in 2009, the Intoxilyzer 8000 began hitting the streets in full force. Yet, by that time, lawsuits filed in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida had already raised serious questions about the reliability of the Intoxilyzer 8000. Today, those same issues are surfacing in the Buckeye State, and defendants have successfully petitioned courts in Ohio to suppress unreliable evidence of intoxication obtained from an Intoxilyzer 8000 device.

Software Problems, Withholding Of Source Code, Lack Of Training All Intoxilyzer Issues

Software problems that affect the accuracy of Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test results have been acknowledged in lawsuits in both Florida and Arizona. CMI's failure to provide the source code for review by DUI defense attorneys has also led to Intoxilyzer issues in Minnesota and Florida. General unreliability of the Intoxilyzer 8000 was cited as a reason to suppress test results in Florida, and studies conducted in Tennessee deemed the device too inaccurate to be used for the prosecution of DUI offenses in that state.

The Intoxilyzer 8000 arrived in Ohio flush with the problems it had already been evincing in other states. In addition, devices in use in Ohio appear to be malfunctioning at a higher rate than those employed elsewhere, possibly due to unique environmental factors -- and what's worse, given the short amount of time Intoxilyzer 8000s have been in use in Ohio, officers and technicians have not been adequately trained on how to properly address errors or miscalibrated machines.

A full-scale legal assault on the use of the Intoxilyzer 8000 in Ohio has not yet taken place, mostly due to the substantial barriers to such an action put in place by the Ohio Supreme Court. Just the same, Intoxilyzer 8000 test results have been successfully challenged in individual OVI cases throughout the state.

Contact an Attorney If You've Been Accused of Drunk Driving

If you have been arrested for drunk driving, your future is at stake. But, if the government's case against you is built around Intoxilyzer 8000 test results that may be faulty, you have a good chance of staging a successful defense. Contact an Ohio OVI defense attorney today to begin building your case.

Article provided by Matthew T. Ernst, Attorney at Law
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