Breath Tests and Drunk Driving

If you have been arrested for DUI in Maryland, learn about breath tests and drunk driving in this educational video by our Maryland DUI lawyer.

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Question:

How are breath tests used to determine drunk driving?

Answer:

Cindy:  Can a breath test for suspicion of drunk driving be successfully challenged? That’s our topic on this episode of State Law TV. My guest today is Andy Alpert, a nationally renowned DUI defense lawyer, and he’s going to talk with us about this topic. Andy, thank you for being here today.

Andy:  It’s my pleasure to be here, Cindy.

Cindy:  Andy, first of all, explain to us, what exactly is a breath test?

Andy:  In Maryland, when you go to the station and you are arrested, you are first read what’s called the Advice of Rights form in the state of Maryland. It tells you your rights to whether or not you can take a breath test and what the penalties, at least administratively, are. When I say administratively, it refers to the penalties toward your driving license for taking that test. If you elect to take that test, that test as of this date would be on an Intoximeter EC/IR I, which is a form of a breathalyzer. You would be required to provide two samples into the machine, two samples of your breath, and then a ticker tape, like you would get at Safeway or Giant, would come out with your test results. That would be used against you both administratively against your driver’s license and also in court as evidence against you in a DUI case.

Cindy: Okay. Now, are there any circumstances where that information is not admissible in court?

Andy:  First of all, all of that has to be done according to strict guidelines, so the first thing that we want to do in terms of trying to challenge it is to make sure that all of the guidelines have been followed correctly. To the extent that there are any improprieties, in other words, the police officer did not follow proper procedure– and we could demonstrate that, then there’s the potential that we could keep out the breath test from being entered into evidence. In other words, it couldn’t be used against you at the trial. In addition, when you come to my office, you are given a lengthy medical questionnaire form to fill out. The reason for the medical questionnaire is because we want to know whether you have any issues medically that could potentially affect the breathalyzer test results. For instance, if you have gastrointestinal reflux disease, that could potentially result in a higher breath test than would be accurate of your true breath alcohol content.

Cindy:  How often are these tests conducted properly?

Andy:  Cindy, it is dependent entirely upon how well-trained the police officer is and whether they have followed the proper procedures that are outlined by the regulations of the toxicologist for the state of Maryland, and depending upon what the police officer does in each individual case that determines whether or not there is a defense. As far as percentages, I can tell you that it really is unpredictable. Certain agencies, for instance police agencies, are better at following procedures than other police agencies, so we try to look at it on a very individualized basis. We want to look at every single case and scrutinize every single case to determine whether the proper procedures have been followed. I will tell you that a lot of times you don’t even know until you get to trial that the police officer left out one of the elements that’s required to get the breath test into evidence. That’s the advantage sometimes of trying cases. If police officers don’t lay the proper foundation, the test result doesn’t come in. You might prevail on your DUI case.

Cindy:  Andy, if someone has specific questions, how can they reach you?

Andy:  The best way to reach me is to call my office, which is 301-262-7005. If you should be  on the side of the road or at the station and you need to know what to do and you’ve asked to speak to an attorney, you can call my cell phone, which is 301-775-4572. If you want further information, in general about DUI and specifically about our firm and how we handle DUI cases, you can go on the internet at AndrewAlpert.com or Maryland-DUI.com.

Cindy:  Very good. Andy, thank you so much for being here today.

Andy:  Thank you for having me.

Cindy:  This is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.

Have you or a loved one been charged with a DUI and have questions about breath tests and drunk driving?  Contact our experienced Maryland DUI lawyers to be your guide.