Some drunken drivers, when asked by the officer who pulls them over, can barely recall how many drinks they had or the bar they were at, let alone discuss the finer points of their future legal defense. So it seemed comical, if not a little frightening, that a couple hundred cases in this county and many more throughout the state could have been drastically altered by the word "the."
Last month an attorney successfully argued that his client’s blood-alcohol test should be thrown out because the toxicologist who checked the testing machine’s accuracy had died and couldn’t testify. The law’s wording refers to the person responsible for preparing or testing simulator solutions. In this case, the person was not alive anymore. And that was the technicality that led to a judge siding with the attorney’s argument.
Fortunately, Court Commissioner Paul Moon in Arlington changed his mind last week after the manager of the state toxicology lab in Seattle explained that the mixture in this case had been tested by as many as 10 toxicologists, just like every other batch. She also explained the impossibility of expecting the exact toxicologist who prepares the batch to testify at trials across the state as requested. Besides, the testing process actually proves if the batch is the correct solution of alcohol and water, not the preparation process.
This case wasn’t about making sure the tests were accurate. They are. It was legal wrangling. Credit the driver’s attorney with creativity and doggedness. We need to challenge our system to make sure it works and that laws are applied and followed the way they were intended to be when written. And judges offer that critical aspect of reflection and accountability, even when people don’t agree with them and are disappointed with the decision.
A decision in the other direction in this case, though, would have had negative effects. Defense attorneys throughout the state were calling the toxicology lab to find out if the mixture used in their counties was prepared by the same toxicologist.
Almost lost in all of this is the serious problem of drinking and driving. We don’t need breath tests to know that no matter how much we campaign against the problem, it’s still rampant and people are being killed. By all means, hold law enforcement and lab results accountable for accuracy, but don’t let it all come down to the word "the."
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
