Improper Breath Test: Certification of Machine

The machine must be certified, and periodic maintenance must be performed on it.  Every time we have found (or another DUI attorney has found) a compliance issue with the manner in which the inspections are conducted, the Division of Forensic Sciences quickly re-writes the inspection protocol for the Intoxilyzer 5000 to eliminate the problem.

Do not expect the Georgia courts to exclude a breath test, even when a machine fails inspection. More often than not, they will say it “goes to weight, not admissibility.” However, once again, juries understand that, if the police want everyone else to play by the rules, then the police should have to do the same.

How to Fight a DUI in Georgia: More Strategies

Improper Stops

• Tips or Anonymous Calls
• Mistake of law
• Failure to maintain lane
• Stopping the wrong car
• Stopping for a hunch or just felt like it
• Stopping a vehicle for a different reason than the officer claims

Improper Arrest

• Improperly Administered Field Sobriety Tests
• Coerced Field Sobriety Tests
• Medical-Physical Conditions
• Illegal Extension of Stop
• Videos Don't Support Arrest Report

Improper Blood Test

• Proper Request
• Statutory Requirements
• Lab Mistakes

Improper Breath Test

• Rules
• Certification
• Interferents
• Machine Not Calibrated
• Machine Malfunction

Procedural Mistakes

• Mirandize/Read Your Rights
• Implied Consent Warning
• Witness Appearance
• Inconsistent Statements by Law Enforcement Officer
• Expert Witness