Breath testing ruled unreliable in DUIs
Published 8:56 pm Tuesday, August 5, 2008
LYNNWOOD — Another Snohomish County judge has concluded that breath tests in drunken driving cases are unreliable because of problems at the state’s toxicology lab.
Snohomish County District Court Judge Jeffrey Goodwin ruled Monday that he won’t accept breath tests measuring a person’s alcohol level if the solutions used to calibrate the tests were made before 2008.
There is nothing in the record that shows the tests are unreliable if they are performed according to the methods approved by the state toxicologist, Goodwin wrote. Tests that were calibrated with solutions prepared beginning Jan. 1 will be allowed as evidence in his court, he wrote.
The issue stems from evidence that former state lab manager Anne Marie Gordon made false claims about verifying solutions used as a control for breath-test machines. Gordon resigned last year after being accused of falsely signing under oath that she had verified the quality-assurance solutions used in the tests.
The breath analysis machines use an external simulator solution to verify the accuracy of the results. The state lab prepares and certifies the breath machine solutions used by all police departments in the state.
If the solution is improperly prepared, the control tests could be wrong and the accuracy of the breath machines can’t be verified.
At least two other Snohomish County judges have ruled they won’t accept any evidence from breath tests until prosecutors can prove that the methods used are reliable.
Goodwin’s decision may be the proof prosecutors’ need. They expect to go back to the judges in Everett and Monroe to argue that the tests are reliable, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Andrew Alsdorf said.
Prosecutors also are gearing up to appeal the district court judges’ decision in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Bellevue defense attorney Ted Vosk agreed with Goodwin’s decision. He said police agencies still are using solutions from 2007 and 2006. That needs to change, he said.
“All it would take would be a phone call from the prosecutor’s office,” Vosk said. “It would be that simple.”
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
