Portable Breath Test (PBT) device results are not admissible in Kentucky Courts.
Officers in Kentucky routinely use Portable Breath Test devices to determine the presence of alcohol so as to support the officer’s probable cause decision to arrest the suspect driver. Implicit in the use of the PBT is the requirement that it be used according to the manufacturer’s guidelines and Kentucky Administrative Regulations. Kentucky, like most states, have trained officers on the proper administration and evaluation of portable breath test devices. However, for a variety of reasons, not all officers follow the manufacturer guidelines nor follow the administrative regulations.
For example, Kentucky Officers have used the Alco Sensor III, a portable breath test device. The Alco Sensor III manual, page 2, states that a 15 minute waiting period should be followed:
If you are using the ALCO-SENSOR III for evidence, the waiting period between arrest and testing should conform to your local jurisdiction rulings, generally 15 to 20 minutes.
If the unit is being used for screening a 15 minute waiting period should be sufficient to rid the alimentary tract of any residual alcohol. Here again, if regulations call for a minimum waiting period - observe it.
Not all officers wait 15 minutes as recommended by the PBT manual. Other problems, such as improper calibration, working outside its temperature range, and failure of the officer to purge the device of alcohol prior to the test, can lead to errors. As such, the Kentucky Legislature enacted Kentucky Revised Statute 189A.104. This statute only allows the admission in court of breath analysis results by machines installed, tested, and maintained at a police station or detention facility. Therefore, in Kentucky, any mention of breath results from a PBT, even "the presence of alcohol", is not admissible in court.
Post by Lexington Kentucky Attorney Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office, Kentucky DUI Defense Lawyer.
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