Alcotest 7110 Reliability
On February 13, 2007 a special master who had been appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Draeger Alcotest 7110 machine that is used in most municipalities in the state of New Jersey is scientifically reliable. The ruling ended much speculation about how state Municipal Courts would handle DWI cases that rely on the Alcotest’s measurement of blood-alcohol levels in individuals arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Special master Michael Patrick King ruled, in State v. Chun, “This court finds that the Alcotest 7110, NJ 3.11 version is and has been scientifically reliable, under the clear and convincing evidence standard when the test protocol is carefully followed by the operator and the instrument is functioning properly.”
Special Master King did, however, rule that the test operator must be properly certified to use the machine, and that very specific procedures must be followed in operating the machine. Other changes were also recommended with respect to the specific type of documents that municipal prosecutors must provide during discovery. In addition, the ruling, if adopted by the State Supreme Court, provides defense lawyers with strong arguments in cases where the blood-alcohol reading is right on the cusp of the legal limit. In other words, in cases that have been stayed pending the special master’s decision, where defendants blood-alcohol readings are .10 or .08, a strong legal argument can be made to prosecutors that those readings are not scientifically reliable under this ruling and that the levels in these cases should be reduced to .09 and .07 respectively.
Importantly, there are still a multitude of issues that arise in DWI cases by which defense attorneys can challenge a DWI summons. An elevated blood-alcohol level reading does not necessarily doom a DWI defense. There are still many other elements to be proven by the state in a DWI case. The state’s burden of proof remains “beyond a reasonable doubt” and there are many constitutional defenses that can be asserted in a DWI case. Every case is different, and every case is very fact specific. If you have been charged with a DWI summons, please contact the firm of Lependorf & Silverstein, P.C. for a free case evaluation. Our aggressive attorneys will fight for you and pursue every avenue available to us to defend you in court.
