Many people regard a breathalyzer as some sort of infallible device. This includes police, those accused of DUI in Pennsylvania, and the general public. They assume that these devices can do no wrong and can never be inaccurate. Even judges, prosecutors and juries will make this assumption—despite the fact that there is a history of rulings, motions and legal actions that have thrown out past breathalyzer results.
In 2016, the Inquirer reported on one such incident. Inaccurate readings from a breathalyzer machine used by the Philadelphia police affected up to 1,000 former Philly DUI cases.
Unfortunately, the breathalyzer’s reputation as a mystical, never-fail device causes some Pennsylvania DUI suspects to neglect their right to defend their case. Rather than pursuing potential actions that could rightfully exclude invalid breathalyzer evidence—or generally help reduce the charges they face—DUI suspects simply give up. They accept a plea bargain or fail to argue against the results of the test itself.… Read More