Several DWI defense lawyers recently noticed this mistake and have successfully argued the matter in court. They claim that police failed to properly test and maintain the equipment according to state regulations and, as such, the results of the test must be thrown out as potentially unreliable.
Just this past week two suspected drunk drivers from the St. Louis area had their cases tossed because police officers were unable to prove that they had tested the breath machines at all three BAC levels. In both instances, the drivers’ licenses of the suspects were restored and all suspensions removed.
News of the success has traveled far and wide and reports indicate that another eight cases have used a similar argument in contesting a defendant’s guilt. Experts say that if judges continue to rule favorably, that it could cause serious problems for prosecutors seeking to convict drunk drivers. Without the breath test evidence, they may not be able to prove that drivers actually were intoxicated. The same issue will make things hard for the Department of Revenue, which uses the results to justify revoking a drunk driver’s license.
Some prosecutors have said that defendants should hold off on getting excited given the other evidence of intoxication that officers may have collected. Additionally, prosecutors say that the wording issue was likely a simple clerical error and that they would be fighting back more vigorously against such technical arguments. Whether the issue of the “and” results in thousands of suspected drunk drivers going free remains to be seen, but you can bet it will be watched carefully by many in Missouri.
Source: “Drunken driving suspects may get a break from fine print in Missouri regulations,” by Jesse Bogan, published at STLToday.com.