SEATTLE - When police suspect a person of drunken driving, the driver will often take a breathalyzer test.
Breathalyzers are calibrated with a special solution created by the state toxicology lab.
Two years ago, when it was discovered the lab manager was improperly certifying those solutions, DUI attorneys had a field day.
"In essence, it's meaningless ... the number means nothing," said attorney Ted Vosk, who argued the tests couldn't be trusted, and some courts refused to let them into evidence.
But after a management overhaul and new procedures at the lab, it just became one of only four in the world to have its breath test program accredited by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors.
"They're a great bunch of people and you can rely on their results," said Charlie Blackman, A deputy prosecutor in Snohomish County who handles dui appeals. He says accreditation of the lab will help prosecute drunken driving cases.
"It's one more reason, among many other reasons, why the jury can trust this evidence," said Blackman.
Vosk says this is a good first step, but still doesn't account for what he calls uncertainty and bias, or what you and know as "margin of error."
A breathalyzer test might show a reading of .08, but with a margin of error, the actual number might be .10, or .06.
"If a machine's reading high, you've got to adjust those results lower. Innocent people are going to go to jail," said Vosk.
Blackman says that's nonsense, and suspects with problems at the lab fixed, dui attorneys will take a new tack.
"It's their job as defense attorneys to come up with some reason why a breath test should not be admitted into evidence," he said.
Next year, breathalyzer machines statewide, will likely be replaced.
The director of the toxicology lab says the new machines could be set up to calculate the margin of error.
