Massachusetts banned from using Breathalyzer test pending reforms at state police agency
A District Court judge has decided that no Breathalyzer tests administered in Massachusetts can be used in court until the state’s Office of Alcohol Testing undergoes major reforms.
The ruling by Judge Robert Brennan comes after years of litigation over the reliability of the Breathalyzer test that is used in Massachusetts. During the course of the litigation, it was discovered that the Office of Alcohol Testing intentionally withheld important evidence from defense lawyers.
Despite a state investigation of the office and the promise of reforms, Brennan wrote that none of the steps taken so far are “sufficient to provide the level of transparency necessary to remedy the harm to the criminal justice system.”
Joseph Bernard, of Springfield, and Thomas Workman, of Taunton, representing drunken driving defendants, have been challenging the accuracy of the Alcotest 9150 developed by Draeger Safety Diagnostics.
Read more: https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/01/massachusetts-banned-from-using-breathalyzer-test-pending-reforms-at-state-police-agency.html