DUI Chemical Test Refusal

October 19, 2011

Could Burbank DUI Breathalyzer Test Be Next on the Chopping Block? Massive Breath Test Dismissals in Florida Spark National Excitement

If you got arrested after failing a Burbank DUI breathalyzer test – blowing significantly over the legal limit of 0.08% BAC, for instance – you may feel sour, sad, and scared that the breathalyzer test failure will doom you to a lengthy prison sentence? Now that you’ve been “tarred and feathered” as a DUI driver, will your insurance rates go to the roof? What will your friends, family and colleagues think about you now? Etc, etc.

Before you go down this rabbit hole of fear and catastrophic thinking, pull out of your nose dive for a minute and consider a very curious story out of Manatee County, Florida, of all places. According to a local Florida paper, the Bradenton Herald, “prosecutors in Manatee County have decided not to use the alcohol breath test results from one or two local intoxilyzer 8000 machines, saying the volume of blown air wasn’t accurately measured.”

In other words, the machines screwed up!

And the “positive” DUI readings the machines collected are no longer valid as evidence!

As a Division Chief in the Florida State Attorney’s Office noted, “it was the right thing for the integrity of the pending cases to not use the breath results.” Not all analysts agreed with the decision to throw out the breath test results. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Heather Smith, countered that “the volume is separate and independent from the subject’s alcohol content results … the amount of breath you blow cannot result in a higher or lower alcohol content reading.”

We will leave it to the reader to find the holes in Ms. Smith’s reasoning here. But let’s not get lost in the minutiae of the case – Florida officials already believe that the problem has been solved and the machines are now “fixed,” back in action, ready to help officers tag DUI drivers.

The greater point here is that Burbank DUI breathalyzer tests may not be as “bullet proof” as the common driver assumes they are. As this blog has documented many times over, breathalyzer tests can be corrupted by a diverse array of factors, including:

• Whether you are a man or woman;
• Whether you are a diabetic, or on a special ketogenic diet;
• How deeply you blow into the machines (Ms. Smith’s protestations to the contrary, notwithstanding);
• Calibration or officer reading errors;
• Sample contamination;
• etc, etc.

A Burbank DUI defense attorney, such as a Michael Kraut of San Fernando Valley’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810), can help you understand the charges you face, figure out what to do about them, and resolve any questions, concerns, or fears you have regarding your situation and legal prognosis.

Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor for the city. He is often called upon by major media institutions to provide expert analysis on Burbank DUI matters.

June 8, 2011

Pasadena Breath Test Implications: Will Tainted Santa Clara County Breathalyzer Tests Ultimately Impact Southern California Cases?

by Michael Kraut

If you have recently been arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Pasadena or elsewhere in Southern California (e.g. DUI in Burbank, DUI in Glendale, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Los Angeles) chances are you’ve tuned into some very curious news out of Santa Clara County, California. Over 850 DUI cases up are being reviewed, after evidence emerged that the Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers used throughout Palo Alto and San Jose may have been significantly defective. As this blog reported a few weeks ago, the Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers have a manufacturer’s defect that causes condensation buildup and skews BAC readings.

The defective breathalyzers may have led to false arrests and convictions.

All that said, so far the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office has not identified too many problematic cases. Out of 858 files that theoretically could have been disputed, so far, only 42 questionable cases have so far surfaced. An Assistant Public Defender, Nona Klippen-Hughes, admitted “I don’t think there is going to be a huge number of cases.” Part of the problem is that the average BAC level for arrest was 0.19% – significantly over the legal limit – and many suspects who used the Alco-Sensor V device also blew DUI positive breath results at the police station after being taking into custody.

So the revelation about the faulty machines may not be as “newsworthy” as initial reports suggested…unless, that is, you consider the story in context. Then, it gets a LOT more interesting. For instance, Vermont and Florida have witnessed serious breathalyzer-related problems that may result in a wholesale throwing out of some pretty big charges.

These breathalyzer-related mishaps are disturbing. Especially because it can be easily demonstrated that breath tests skew in a variety of ways. As this blog has noted time and again, if you blow deeply into a breathalyzer machine, you get a higher BAC reading than if you blow lightly. Men and women process alcohol differently. Chemicals on your breath alter these tests. Calibration and officer errors mess them up. And, obviously, manufacturing defects can also do the job.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can unpack the evidence against you and develop a battle plan to fight the charges. For instance, say you blew an over-the-limit BAC level reading on a breathalyzer. Attorney Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899) could potentially challenge the results on a number of grounds. Attorney Kraut served as a prosecutor for nearly 15 years. He still uses his connections, insights, prosecutorial mindset, and perspective to help clients get the results that they want and deserve.

June 3, 2011

Burbank DUI Checkpoints Violating Civil Liberties?

by Michael Kraut

The police officers who stop drivers at Burbank DUI checkpoints are empowered to remove dangerous drivers from the roads to enhance public safety. And while everyone can agree that we want to reduce and ideally eliminate Burbank DUI, Glendale DUI, Pasadena DUI, Los Angeles DUI, etc., civil liberties groups are complaining that DUI checkpoints are being used to generate impoundment fees… as opposed to eliminating DUI drivers!

According to a May 24th story from the Associated Press, a lawmaker in Northern California (Santa Rosa), Assemblyman Michael Allen (D), has proposed a law to “restrict the inspections to their intended purpose of stopping drunken driving.” Allen’s bill, AB 1389, points out that impoundments have leapt over the 50% between 2007 to 2009.

In many California cities, Allen says, “the ratio of impoundments to DUI arrest is 20 to 1.” The California Police Chief Association, among other enforcement agencies, denies that DUI checkpoints are being abused to generate impoundment fees. David L. Maggard, Jr. responded via e-mail that “DUI checkpoints are exclusively about safety.” Another Assemblyman, Kevin Jeffries, complained that the bill would tie up police and prevent enforcement of anti-DUI policy: “I was a volunteer firefighter for 29 years, and I saw a lot of carnage the road because of drunk drivers…this weakens our ability to catch drunk drivers.”

The bill proposed by Allen would codify a state Supreme Court ruling that “requires officers to conduct their checkpoints on roads that already have a high rate of DUI arrest or accidents, and then give advance notice of the location.”

Clearly, there has to be some way to find a balance here between respecting the rights and civil liberties of drivers and keeping our roads safe and clear of dangerous drivers.

Unfortunately, the way the system has been politicized, policy analysts, politicians, and many people in the legal system have been conditioned to believe that only “win-lose” outcomes are available. Either the police “win” or DUI drivers “win.” This kind of binary choice is obviously a false choice, if you probe the argument in any logical detail. Surely, we collectively can find ways to eliminate or reduce DUI driving and abuse of checkpoints and make our roads safer – all at the same time. It’s just going to take creativity and a little more willingness to both experiment with policy solutions and to measure the efficacy of the solutions in a smart way.

Changing our cultural expectations of drivers may help a lot more than simply punishing them. For instance, right now, in spite of the fact that California’s laws prohibit drivers from text message while driving, many people still do it anyway. If we can find a way to eliminate the “social permission” that we’re tacitly giving each other to text while driving, we can likely reduce accidents significantly – all without punishing anybody.

All of this philosophizing aside, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can provide crucial, tactical, and strategic advice and solutions for you, if you or someone you care about has been charged with a DUI crime. Michael Kraut of Burbank’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810) is a highly reputed former prosecutor (served as a Deputy District Attorney almost for 15 years), who is respected by prosecutors and judges and regarded by major media as an expert in Los Angeles DUI law.

June 1, 2011

Pasadena DUI Breathalyzer Machines: Could They Be Next on the Chopping Block?

by Michael Kraut

Attorneys and pundits who follow news about Pasadena DUI (and DUI throughout the country) are keeping a keen eye on Sarasota County, Florida, where an otherwise boring and workaday DUI trial may have profound implications for the use of DUI breath tests in Florida – and perhaps, indirectly, Southern California (e.g. Pasadena DUI, Burbank DUI, Los Angeles DUI, and Glendale DUI).

At issue is whether the Intoxilyzer 8000, a breath test machine that Florida troopers use exclusively, generates scientifically sound results.

According to an article in the Herald Tribune, “A five-year legal dispute over the machine has left prosecutors in Sarasota and Manatee counties unable to use Intoxilyzer 8000 test results to trial without bringing experts to prove the machine is scientifically sound… if prosecutors prevail, the hearing could save one of the most powerful pieces of evidence in DUI trials… but if not, prosecutors may not be able to use alcohol breath test in DUI trials, making it harder to prove cases or get DUI pleads.”

As this blog has reported, the Intoxilyzer 8000 is not the only breath test machine under fire recently. Both Southern California DUI breathalyzers and Vermont breathalyzers have come under heavy fire this year.

The Sarasota case has some very interesting details. The defendant, Felicia Bridwell, is a 25-year-old who was stopped last August. She admitted to having consumed two glasses of wine – “one at dinner and one at home” and performed her field sobriety tests adequately. But her Intoxilyzer results measured her BAC at 0.10% – greater than the 0.08% that marks the cut-off for Southern Florida and Southern California DUI. Her reaction was astonished and nonplussed: “Are you serious? Are you serious? I didn’t pass the test?”

Now, of course, just because certain breathalyzer tests are faulty doesn’t mean that no one drives DUI. It just means that the tests may be far more flawed than most people realize. Depending on whether you have certain diseases or conditions; whether you blow hard or soft into the machine; whether the machine is properly calibrated; and probably dozens of other factors, your reading may be higher or lower than your actual, real world BAC level.

Who knows how this campaign to demand accountability from our breathalyzer machines will end? Clearly, we need two things:

1. A way for authorities to better analyze BAC readings, so drivers get treated more fairly.
2. Creative, sensible solutions to eliminate or at least limit bad and dangerous driving behaviors.

These two aims may not be exclusive.

On the practical side, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of Pasadena’s Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (790 East Colorado Boulevard, 9th floor, Pasadena, California 91101 Phone: (626) 345-1899), can give you clearheaded, strategically sound advice about how to build your Pasadena DUI defense. Mr. Kraut has the experience, track record, reputation, and compassion to meet your needs.

April 25, 2011

Burbank DUI Breathalyzer Disaster – Alco-Sensor V Breathalyzers Found to Be “Erratic” – Hundreds of Cases Could Be Affected

by Michael Kraut

Last week saw some major breaking Burbank DUI news – the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office released memos showing that Intoximeter’s Alcohol Sensor V breathalyzer tests — used in the field between January 20 and March 31st this year — have demonstrated “erratic results.” The upshot is that many people arrested for crimes like Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, and Los Angeles DUI over past three months might have been victimized.

According to reports, an officer in the field discovered the defect in the new breathalyzers. He reported the problem, and the police quickly pulled the machines from the field (128 devices total – each one worth approximately $4,800!).

Further testing revealed that chilling the machines skewed their readings. Officers get four hours of training on breathalyzers before they use them in the field. Intoximeters Incorporated (a St. Louis Company) allegedly put the devices through pretty vigorous beta testing. But despite these precautions, serious design flaws persisted. Tragically, the flaws may have lead to the unjust arrests and convictions of many people in 2011.

As this Burbank DUI blog often points out, the legal limit (stipulated by California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b)) for driving under the influence in CA is 0.08% BAC. This means, in other words, if you blew into an Alco-Sensor V machine and got a reading of, say, 0.10% BAC, you might have been arrested for a crime you didn’t actually commit.

An experienced Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (offices in Burbank at: 2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810), would point out that breathalyzers in general have far more flaws than the public typically knows about.

Men and women, for instance, process alcohol differently. Diabetics and dieters often produce chemical compounds known as ketones on their breath which can generate “false positives” on BAC tests. The devices may be poorly calibrated or misinterpreted. The devices may also malfunction under certain pressure and temperature conditions –witness what happened here with the Alco-Sensor V debacle.

This breathalyzer disaster also drives home how important it is for defendants to work with high-quality attorneys. When you are charged with a DUI, not only can lose your license, but you can also be slapped with penalties such as fines, court costs, jail time, mandatory probation, mandatory IID installation, and alcohol school. You may also face negative repercussions for your career and reputation.

Attorney Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’ Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can speak with you about how and why you got pulled over for Ventura County DUI and explain your rights, responsibilities, and “best path” forward, so you feel more comfortable and secure about the direction of your defense.

April 11, 2011

Burbank DUI Shocker: Attorney Arrested for Driving Under the Influence

by Michael Kraut

If you’ve been stuck on Victory Boulevard or Burbank Boulevard in heavy traffic, chances are you’ve had the opportunity to gaze at billboards for lawyers who specialize in Los Angeles DUI and criminal defense. Whatever you feel about the attorneys who put up these ads, you’d think they’d know enough to stay out of trouble themselves.

Unfortunately, even legal professionals, judges, police officers, and law makers who encode the laws for Burbank DUI, Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, and Los Angeles DUI can lose their bearings and get into trouble with our state’s anti-DUI laws.

Although say today’s blog post is about an event out of Orange Country, Florida, its implications for DUI defense are pretty universal. Let’s take a look:

A Florida DUI lawyer had been returning home with a companion, when the companion ran a red light and got stopped by a police officer. The attorney pulled over to check on his friend. As he walked over, the officer noted that lawyer appeared to be stumbling; he suspected the attorney of driving under the influence.

According to the attorney’s report, he had indeed imbibed two drinks over the evening. But he vehemently denied that he was over the South Florida (and Burbank DUI) limit of 0.08% BAC. “[The attorney] brushed off the officer’s allegation as absurd: ‘How can you see one staggering when you’re walking through a grassy median makes no sense.’

The attorney refused to take a field sobriety test but agreed to take a blood test. But when he arrived at the Orange County jail, he was not offered a blood test. According to Allen Moore, a spokesman, the jail does not conduct blood tests. The attorney, a former Sheriff’s Detective, made a $500 jail bond and left jail just after 9 am.

Was the attorney treated fairly by police? Without deeper analysis of what happened, it’s impossible to say. News reports like these often unwittingly bias readers one way or another – as with any Burbank DUI situation, the only way to really get at the truth is to engage in a long and discerning probe of the evidence and testimony.

Unfortunately for the attorney, irrespective of whether he can vindicate himself and clear his record, his business may suffer. He contends that the officer who arrested him knew him by name, and that that’s why the arrest occurred. Here’s exactly what he said: “100%, the facts will show that [he] was not impaired while driving. He was not even cited for any traffic violations, had stopped to assist another motorist, a friend, and then was detained by an overzealous OPD officer they knew me by name and immediately detained me.”

The major takeaway here is that DUI arrests can be scary, no matter how well you know the law, and no matter how trained you are. To get over that feeling of overwhelm and anxiety, consult with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney with a great record at jury trials, and lots of experience as a former prosecutor. Connect with Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers in Burbank at  2600 West Olive Avenue, 5th Floor, Burbank, California 91505 Phone: (818) 563-9810 to get a free and completely confidential consultation about what to do next.

February 16, 2011

Glendale DUI Ridiculousness – Woman Gets DUI after Pulling Herself over for No Reason

by Michael Kraut

Most major news stories concerning driving under the influence in Glendale have a sober and even tragic tone about them. This blog has certainly covered tales of celebrities ruining their careers while driving DUI in Burbank, DUI in Pasadena, DUI in Glendale, or DUI in Los Angeles. It’s also discussed the implications of vehicular manslaughter and even DUI murders (also called Watson Murders). But in addition to the tragic stories that unfold every day across the nation, unintentionally hilarious situations also emerge.

A case in point: A small Ohio paper called the Sandusky Register is reporting on a totally bizarre DUI case in Perkins Township.

Apparently, 27-year-old Nicole Scott had been driving home when she saw what she believed to be flashing police lights. She dutifully pulled herself over. But she then quickly realized that the “police lights” were just lights to a nearby sign for Skate World. Unfortunately, by this point, her Dodge Avenger had become mired in a snow bank.

By the by, police officers arrived at the scene and found Ms. Scott sitting alone in her car, still intoxicated. We will quote the Sandusky Register to give you the blow by blow from here:

“She denied being the driver of the vehicle and said her friend Ray had been driving, but he ran off. Scott refused a sobriety test because she insisted she was not the driver. She proceeded to tell police that her friend Samantha had been driving, and later that her friend Courtney had been driving. Finally, she said her friend Brittany had been driving, according to police.”

Unsurprisingly, the cops did not buy her multiple conflicting stories – and they also took notice of the empty bottle of Michelob Ultra in her car – and that there were only a single set of footprints around her vehicle – and arrested her.

When police pull you over – for a suspected Glendale DUI or DUI anywhere else in the state – they will typically look for signs that you are under the influence of a narcotic or alcohol. One of those signs might be telling the police five different stories about where you have been. Another might be that you have an open container of alcohol (like Michelob Ultra). If you smell like alcohol, mumble, stumble, or fumble, demonstrate poor motor skills or driving skills, or look disheveled, bloodshot eyed, or otherwise bizarre, chances are these Glendale DUI symptoms may get you arrested.

Fortunately, you do have legal recourse. A qualified Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as former prosecutor Michael Kraut of Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers (offices in Glendale at 121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) can deliver crucial services.

As a recognized thought leader in the Los Angeles DUI community, this Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor (14+ years working for the city) has a peerless reputation for delivering great service, compassionate advice, and strategic guidance.

September 6, 2010

Los Angeles DUI “False Positives” – What You Can Do to Protect against Them

by Michael Kraut

If you get arrested for driving under the influence in Southern California – whether you are a celebrity like Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton; or an “ordinary Joe” – you may find it difficult to get over the social stigma and get on with your life. Ideally, you want to avoid arrest and be a safe and conscientious citizen on Southland freeways and surface streets. Unfortunately, even people who do follow “best practices” for defensive driving — who stay away from things like speaking on their cell phones while on the road or driving under the influence — can get tagged for DUI in Long Beach (or elsewhere).

Here are potential triggers that can yield false positives for DUI:

1. Ketosis/ketoacidosis interfering with breathalyzer test results
If you are a diabetic who suffers from ketoacidosis (a consequence of hypoglycemia) or if you are on the induction phase of a low carbohydrate diet and your body is burning ketones (i.e. in a state of ketosis), you may have chemicals on your breath which can falsely elevate your BAC reading on a breathalyzer test. In other words, you may be legitimately under the legal limit but because of your diabetes or your diet, you can blow a BAC reading that looks positive for DUI in Los Angeles.

2. Smoking cigarettes or tobacco

When you smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products, you raise your level of acetaldehyde, another chemical that can falsely elevate your BAC readings and make it look like you are DUI in Pasadena (or wherever) when you are actually not.

3. Fatigue

When you are pulled over for under suspicion of driving under the influence in Southern California, and you are fatigued, you may present symptoms that look very similar to Los Angeles DUI symptoms. For instance, you may have bloodshot eyes, you may not be able to put together a coherent sentence, and you may slur your words. This obviously isn’t to say that you should drive while fatigued – you certainly shouldn’t, because that’s also very dangerous – but your extreme fatigue can certainly mimic DUI symptoms and lead to a “false positive.”

4. Personal “X” factors

Every person is different. Some people are naturally sweaty and ruddy, and they are not able to articulate themselves well. Other people just have bad coordination. So if you are someone who is uncoordinated, for instance, and you are asked to perform a field sobriety test, you might fail the FST simply because of your innate lack of coordination.

5. Nervousness and agitation because you are pulled over

If you’ve ever been pulled over, you probably felt agitated, anxious and maybe out of breath. We behave differently under extreme circumstances – and a suspect’s nervous behavior thus may look like DUI behavior, even if he or she is well below the legal limit.

So if you believe that your DUI was a “false positive” or if you are simply not sure how to proceed with your best defense, talk to an experienced attorney as quickly as you can.

June 7, 2010

Celebrity Los Angeles DUI Bloggers Agog Over Real Housewife DWI Arrest

by Michael Kraut

Blogs and tabloids devoted to the topic of celebrity Southern California DUI arrests lit up last week after Sonja Morgan — one of the newest members of the “Real Housewives of New York City” cast — was busted for DWI in South Hampton Village, New York. According to the New York Post, the 46-year-old actress hurtled through a stop sign near First Neck Lane just after 2 in the morning. Allegedly, she had been partying with friends on East End over the holiday weekend. Morgan recently divorced John Adams Morgan, the great grandson of financial tycoon J.P. Morgan. Allegedly, she refused to take a breathalyzer at the scene. No court date has been set yet for her DUI charge. It’s also unclear whether or not her arrest will impact her appearance on Bravo’s hit reality TV series.

When you read about arrests like Morgan’s – whether they are celebrity run-ins with police or more “pedestrian” arrests for, say, DUI in Glendale — the focus is often on breathalyzer tests. But what are breathalyzers? Do they really work? And if you have been pulled over for driving under the influence in Pasadena, can you challenge the results of these tests?

Breathalyzers are chemical tests for DUI. Essentially, a breathalyzer is a portable chemical analysis machine. You blow into it. The machine analyzes the chemical composition of your breath. From there, a police officer is supposed to be able to extrapolate your level of blood alcohol concentration.

The machine is a great idea in theory. The problem is that, in practice, many things can skew the results.

For instance, if you are diabetic, you might have chemicals in your breath that might read as alcohol and thus yield a false positive. Also, men and women process alcohol at different rates and this can skew the results. Even the depth of the breath you breathe out can radically swing the results. If you breathe out shallowly, you will have a lower BAC rating (in general) than if you breathe a deep breath out. (Note: This may explain why many police officers encourage Los Angeles DUI breathalyzer suspects to breathe deeply into the breathalyzer).

An experienced Southern California DUI attorney can help you challenge breathalyzer results on a number of grounds – from challenging the care and handling of the machine itself to attacking the administration and testing to calling into question other details of the arrest or police work.

To build a solid case, however, you need an attorney who has been around the block with Southern California DUI defenses.

April 7, 2010

Joey Porter will not be charged with Southern California DUI

by Michael Kraut

Joey Porter, a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, was arrested for Southern California DUI last week in Bakersfield near a Taco Bell. The 33-year-old allegedly got into a confrontation with the officers who arrested him – slapping a police officer’s hand when the officer opened his car door – but DUI allegations against the athlete have been dropped, according to the local Deputy DA.

According to reports, Porter tested right around the limit for Southern California DUI – different readings gave BACs at 0.07% and 0.08%. Prosecutors did not believe they had unambiguous evidence to convict. Deputy DA Mark Pafford was quoted in a Bakersfield paper about the matter: “We do not believe that there will be a reasonable likelihood that a jury would find Mr. Porter guilty… we thought it was not appropriate for us to proceed.”

Interestingly, apparently Porter had been pulled over at the same time as his friend had been pulled over – the double stop may have complicated the investigation and would certainly have made any kind of trial (if it had come to that) more complex.

Porter’s case of Southern California DUI aside, how exactly do breathalyzer tests determine whether or not prosecutors press for charges like DUI in Glendale?

The breathalyzer test is the most common type of BAC test employed in the Greater Los Angeles area. Theoretically, breathalyzer tests should work easily. All a suspect has to do is blow into a machine, which analyzes the breath and determines based on chemical methods how much alcohol is in the person’s blood stream. If that alcohol concentration is above a certain magic number – in California that number is 0.08% – then that person should be tried and ultimately convicted for DUI in Glendale (or wherever).

In practice, however, it’s not simple. Breathalyzer readings are subject to all sorts of errors. First of all, machines do not discriminate between men and women, between sick people and healthy people, and between people with different metabolisms. Deeper breaths into a machine may yield higher readings, and even false positives for DUI in Southern California. The machines can be misread. Officers can screw up the paperwork and record numbers incorrectly. Other chemicals in the blood or even on the machine can interfere with readings. And so on and so forth.

The inherent flaws in breathalyzer testing notwithstanding, if you have been charged with DUI in Pasadena, you likely need an expert attorney to help you navigate the legal system. It’s not enough simply to argue that “The breathalyzer test was wrong!” Unless you have evidence and argumentation to back up your claim, and unless you understand the proper legal protocol to defend yourself, justice may not be served.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go down this road alone.