Hundreds, if not up to 1,000 DUI convictions, could be overturned in San Francisco because of how police improperly handled devices that measure blood alcohol levels in an individual during a DUI arrest. At issue is how police conducted accuracy checks on Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) devices used to determine an individual’s blood alcohol level in the field.
The most common PAS device used by law enforcement today is a handheld breathalyzer called the Alco-Sensor IV. An individual suspected of driving under the influence is not required to take the PAS breath test, but a police officer will almost always ask the suspect to voluntarily submit to the test. These handheld breath test devices can produce much less accurate results than the kind of evidentiary blood alcohol tests a person is required to submit to once they have been arrested for driving under the influence. Additionally, according to Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, these handheld breath-testing devices are considered field sobriety tests that are intended simply to establish probable cause to arrest someone for DUI. According to the law, these PAS devices should not be used in court as evidence of someone’s actual blood alcohol content. Unfortunately though, the results of these handheld breath tests often are allowed to be used against a defendant in court to prove they were driving with .08 or greater blood alcohol content or to prove the person was intoxicated.
In order to ensure that these handheld breath-testing devices are producing accurate readings, law enforcement agencies using them are required to conduct frequent accuracy checks of the instruments. These accuracy checks are done by introducing an alcohol based solution (commonly a solution comprised of .1 percent alcohol by volume) into the machine during a test period. If the reading produced from the device varies by + or – .01 from the alcohol content of the testing solution, then this will indicate the machine is not accurate according to law and needs to be recalibrated.
In January, several attorneys for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office noticed that some of the accuracy test logs for the PAS devices listed readings that exactly matched the alcohol solution being used during testing. Both the District Attorney of San Francisco and the Public Defender agree that at least some of the tests should have yielded results that varied at least by small amounts from the testing solution. These “on the number results” suggest that accuracy tests on the handheld breath-testing devices may have been faked. The fact that these breath-testing devices may not have been properly calibrated casts doubt on any DUI arrest they were used in and could result in up to 1,000 DUI convictions being overturned.
The failure to properly calibrate the breath-testing devices in San Francisco highlights the danger suspected drunk drivers in California face of being wrongfully convicted. If you are charged with a DUI, the evidence against you may seem insurmountable, but this is often not the case. Law Enforcement’s failure to follow strict guidelines set out by law during a DUI arrest can be used to strengthen your case and result in less severe charges being brought against you or even outright dismissal. The harsh penalties associated with a DUI conviction can be minimized and sometimes completely eliminated when a skilled and experienced DUI attorney is handling your case.

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