A Florida appellate court ruled on January 3, 2007, that improper maintenance of the Intoxilyzer 5000 alcohol breath-test machines with tap water renders the results of a DUI breath test inadmissible.
Since July 29, 2001, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) regulations have required the use of distilled or deionized water in monthly agency inspections of breath testing instruments, including the Intoilyzer 5000 machines. Officers at the Davie police department and the Broward Sheriff's Office used tap water instead of distilled water to test the machines. Accordingly, Defense lawyers brought a Motion to Suppress any and all results of a breath test, in that the State used tap water, and not distilled or de-ionized water as required by law. The trial court judge ruled in favor of the defendant.
On Appeal, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that the improper maintenance of the alcohol breath-test machines rendered the Intoxilyzer results inadmissible.
The State v. Cubic, No. 4D05-3553 (Fla. App. 1/3/2007) (Fla. App., 2007) decision is not final, but the end result is that approximately 300 drunk driving cases in Broward County could be dismissed because of the inadmissible Intoxilyzer 5000 test results.
Post by Kentucky DUI Lawyer, Stephen J. Isaacs, Isaacs Law Office.
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