OUI/DUI cases in Massachusetts have had a complicated relationship with breathalyzer test evidence for a few years now—a relationship that only continues to develop as the District Court makes additional rulings on the subject.
Recently, in a November 2021 ruling, District Court Judge Robert Brennan suspended the use of breathalyzer test results as evidence in OUI and DUI court cases in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Defendants and defense attorneys have been fighting the use of breathalyzer test results as evidence in OUI/DUI cases for several years, with a 2017 ruling finding that the way the state maintained the tests was inaccurate and that tests taken between 2012 and 2014 were unreliable.
The Office of Alcohol Testing was also found to have intentionally withheld the results of hundreds of court-mandated calibration and certification tests. In 2018, tens of thousands of results were thrown out; most Massachusetts District Attorneys have stopped using breathalyzer results as evidence in OUI/DUI cases altogether due to this developing trend of unreliability.
In this most recent case, the defense lawyer challenging the reliability of the tests brought forth several serious concerns regarding not only the accuracy of the tests and their results, but the propriety of the breathalyzer handling and administration as well.
These concerns included software malfunctions which led the tests to produce unreliable results. The Office of Alcohol Testing was aware of these malfunctions and made no efforts to notify any relevant persons nor resolve the issues.
Additionally, many tests were found to have been administered by persons lacking the appropriate certification required to administer breathalyzer tests, rendering all of those test results void. It was also found that the OAT had implemented a cleaning protocol for the testing devices which, if followed, was liable to damage an integral part of the breathalyzer apparatus.
The current suspension of breathalyzer evidence is far from the first such moratorium and, as such, the future of breathalyzer tests as evidence in DUI cases in Massachusetts is unclear at present. However, this ruling is likely to contribute to the growing number of OUI and DUI convictions in Massachusetts that have been overturned in recent years. It also positions defendants in current and upcoming OUI/DUI cases to more fairly combat their charges.
However, it is still possible to be convicted of an OUI/DUI charge without breathalyzer evidence. If you’re charged with an OUI or a DUI in Massachusetts, you need an experienced local lawyer to represent you. Attorney James Milligan has over 20 years of experience practicing exclusively OUI and DUI defense. Contact him today.
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