New Jersey’s highest court affirms most DUI Breath Test Results after Challenge

TRENTON, N.J. – The highest court of New Jersey has sided with the state over concerns related to the machine used for BAC level testing of suspected drunk drivers.

Almost 10 years ago, Alcotest replaced the Breathalyzer and since then, its accuracy has been challenged in court a number of times.

5 years back, the state Supreme Court ordered the state to adjust the software of the machine and to design a searchable database to store the test results shown by the samples taken by suspected DUI drivers. Attorneys of twenty DUI defendants claimed the state failed to obey the rules but in a ruling, the Supreme Court disagrees.

A New Jersey attorney general John Hoffman said, “The machine that we used to test drunken driving, the Alcotest machine, was reliable. There are no concerns about the use of the machine”.

In some cases, like a woman above the age of sixty years, the suspect might not be able to breathe hard enough to give an adequate sample required for the test. In those kinds of situations, the court found that prosecutors will need more than the breath test to proceed to trial.

News Source: www.CBSLocal.com