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B. Which Instrument Were You Tested?
Except for certain circumstances wherein a driver is taken to
a hospital or any medical facility, a driver is most often taken
to a local police station after arrest. There the driver will
be asked to provide breath samples by blowing into an instrument.
Remembering as much as you can about when you were tested can
help you when you consult a DWI attorney later. Good DWI attorneys
know that a defense strategy can greatly depend on the instrument
used and the conduct of the police during testing. Whatever the
instrument used when you were tested, try to remember your BrAC
(reading). That information would also help when you consult
a DWI attorney.
An Old Machine: Breathalyzer
Two different instruments are
currently used in New Jersey. One is called a “Breathalyzer”,
which is an old machine and has been used in New Jersey since
at least 1966. This machine accepts
a suspect’s breath until the police officer instructs to stop
blowing. There is a pointer on the machine and when the defendant
stops blowing, the police officer determines by a mechanical
thumb wheel where the arrow points on the breath (blood) alcohol
scale. There is no independent record of the test result other
than what the police officer writes down. The Breathalyzer has
been called the “Dial-a-Drunk” by both the police and by an executive
of a manufacturer of the machine. The Breathalyzer
is an orphaned technology. No company has manufactured Breathalyzer
parts or units since 1983.
That is how this machine measures defendant’s BrAC. It is quite
a simple instrument.
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DWI cases
A New Machine in New Jersey: Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C
Another type of machine is the “Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C”, referred
to as “Alcotest 7110” which is a new instrument introduced in
New Jersey in 2005. This instrument was manufactured by a subsidiary
of a German-based company, Dräger Safety Diagnostics, Inc. Unlike
the Breathalyzer, an Alcotest 7110 has a keyboard attached to
the instrument. If you were tested on this machine, the police
officer typed your basic information such as your name, age,
gender, and driver’s license number before your attempt. You
probably saw the display saying “PLEASE BLOW >>>” before
you started blowing into the machine. This is a newly introduced
alcohol detection instrument used in New Jersey and not all counties
or townships have this machine. As I will explain in “State
v. Chun, et al.” section, seven DWI defense attorneys are
fighting issues regarding the scientific reliability of this
instrument. Excepting “Chun” attorneys, including myself, most
attorneys may not know much about this machine since the issues
are in litigation. This is a landmark DWI case in New Jersey
DWI history, and I created the defense strategy to lead the defense
team.
An Alcotest 7110 is equipped with custom-tailored
computer programs and measures a subject’s BrAC in two ways. Two different technologies
are used to measure BrAC: Infrared Measurement (IR) and Electrochemical
Sensor (EC). IR detects alcohol in the region of the IR spectrum
while EC is activated once ethanol reaches the sensor. Both IR
and EC results are shown on a paper record and are used to prosecute
defendants. The minimum required volume and duration for an accepted
breath sample for an Alcotest 7110 are 1.5 liters and 4.5 seconds,
respectively. In addition to those conditions, there is a minimum
requirement of flow rate, which is set at 2.5 liters per minute.
If one of these conditions is not satisfied, a subject’s breath
sample is rejected, showing an error message. Then the subject
will be told to submit another breath sample. There are other
conditions that need to be satisfied in addition to the conditions
mentioned above, which I have used to build defenses for my clients.
Click here to see our sample winning
DWI cases
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1The figure is as of May 29, 2007. Win rate
is defined as the number of clients not convicted for DWI divided
by the total number of clients who were charged with DWI. The
clients are those who retained this office after 2005. Each case
varies. Under any circumstance, we do NOT guarantee a successful
outcome in any individual case.
2The figure is as of May 29, 2007. Win rate is defined as the
number of clients not convicted for No Automobile Liability Insurance
divided by the total number of clients who were charged with
said charge. The clients are those who retained this office after
2000. Each case varies. Under any circumstance, we do NOT guarantee
a successful outcome in any individual case.
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