A lot of people who submit to a breath test feel like they have no chance of winning their DUI.
I get a lot of people who come into my office lamenting as if they have
already been convicted of DUI...and they haven't even been arraigned yet!
The breath test is scary because we put so much darn faith in it. The prevailing
opinion seems to be that if you blow over a .08 (the legal limit in Florida),
then you are guilty. No questions asked.
Wrong!
The breath machine - also known as the Intoxilyzer 8000 - is exactly that:
a machine.
Machines do not have emotions. They are not capable of free and rational
thought. They simply respond to how they are programmed.
But like many machines, breath machines can (and do) malfunction. Their
readings can be inaccurate due to human error, or errors built right into
the machine.
Your microwave is a machine. Your television is a machine. Sometimes they
don't work properly. The same goes for the breath machine. If the
reading is inaccurate by just a few tenths of a point, your reading can
go from under the limit to over. And many
many people are arrested each and every day due to faulty breath readings.
A good DUI attorney will never shy away from a case where the client submitted
to the breath test. While I advise first-time DUI arrestees to always
refuse the breath test (if you have refused a breath test in the past
and your license was suspended, a second or subsequent refusal will result
in a misdemeanor charge), I still do not find a hunk of antiquated software
to be all that intimidating.
In fact, with a little diligence on part of your attorney, sometimes the
breath machine's own maintenance records will show glaring problems
with the machine. Those errors may help to get your DUI dismissed since
the accuracy of the breath machine is now being called into question.
I handle DUIs in Miami-Dade and Broward. If you have been arrested for
DUI and have submitted to a breath test, don't give up without a fight.
Call me today.