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For an initial courtesy consultation, contact premier DUI and DWI defense attorney Charles Ware at (410) 720-6129. We can help you.
Among other honors, awards and recognitions, defense attorney Charles Ware is ranked by his numerous satisfied clients and many legal peers as one of Maryland's " BEST 10 DUI and DWI ATTORNEYS" [AIDUIA], " U.S. SUPER LAWYER" [MA], "TOP LAWYERS IN MARYLAND" [[ALM], "TOP 100 TRIAL LAWYERS" [NTL], "BEST ATTORNEYS OF AMERICA" [RR], " CLIENT DISTINCTION AWARDEE"[ Martindale & Hubbell], "GOOD COUNSEL"[Baltimore Sun], " WHO's WHO IN BLACK BALTIMORE"[Who's Who], etc.
DUI and DWI breathalyzer machines have had a history of controversy over their fairness, effectiveness, and credibility when used as evidence in courts of law. Despite continued reliance upon them by law enforcement, to this day they continue fail and malfunction.
BREATHALYZERS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FEMALES
One of the major concerns I have always had about these "DUI machines" is their apparent bias against females. Yes --- I said it --- DUI breathalyzers discriminate against females.
The bodies of males and females are physiologically different; and consequently their bodies metabolize alcohol differently [e.g., "... men are from Mars and women are from Venus"--blah,blah, blah]. Breathalyzers are allegedly manufactured with consideration or perspective of the "average male." In my view, there are at least two problems with that "consideration or perspective" : first, in reality there is no such individual as an "average male", physiology; secondly, the machine obviously does not consider the female body physiology at all. Many authorities call this difference between male and female physiologies in DUI testing the "gender factor."
OTHER ISSUES CONCERNING THE USE OF BREATHALYZERS
Law enforcement has done an excellent of convincing the unwitting public that the breathalyzer test is absolutely reliable scientific evidence. It is not. Many judges and most jurors unfortunately rely
upon the breathalyzer test as the God of DUI evidence. It is not.
Strict standards should be followed in using breathalyzer machines; but they are frequently not followed:
(1) The police operators of these DUI breathalyzer machines should have the legally proper field training to be competent;
(2) The laboratories conducting the analyses and regulating the functions of these machines must be properly staffed, operated, and licensed;
(3) All samples (breath, blood, urine, etc.) --- to the extent scientifically possible --- must be correctly preserved and stored;
(4) All standards for analytic procedures must be met;
(5) Proper laboratory and breath machine records must be kept; and
(6) Complete chain of custody of samples must be followed and maintained.
A standard law enforcement procedure is to set-up the breathalyzer test with series of field sobriety tests (FSTs). To be succinct, field sobriety testing is completely subjective. FSTs are all subject to the officer's opinion or judgment. Consequently, this set-up for the breathalyzer test is severely flawed Additionally, many of the questions asked by officers before testing are designed to discover unique problems that may affect a person's performance on the pending test. The degree to which the officer considers the answers he receives from the subject of the test is subjectively variable to each officer. In actuality then, the true performance of the subject is not always reported because of the individual officer's subjectivity. The same can be said of the breath testing results.
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