Twelve years ago a similar challenge to another breath testing machine lead to the dismissal of approximately 5,000 cases of drunk driving in Tucson over several months. The Intoxilyzer 8000 offers a portable piece of equipment to test blood alcohol content of motorists suspected of drunk driving. The Intoxilyzer 8000 is used by most law enforcement agencies in Arizona, as well as seven other states and three government agencies.

The source code used in the Intoxilyzer 8000 has come under challenge from several states. The code is changed for each state to reflect local liquor laws and equipment specifications. Since being implemented in Arizona, the approved version of the equipment's code has been changed multiple times. It is feared that errors and code-based assumptions made by the computer could lead to inaccurate BAC readings and thus false charges of DUI. Even CMI has testified that that there are problems with the latest software version. CMI has been ordered buy several courts across the United States to provide the source code of its equipment, but has refused. The company has accumulated more than $1 million in fines in Florida alone for refusing to cooperate with a court order.

Prosecutors defend the equipment, with one Pima County official stating that the software has been tested by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the federal government “a bazillion times.” Still, many cases of drunk driving have been dismissed because of judges and justices have refused to enter the results of a breath test into evidence. If the Intoxilyzer 8000 is found unreliable in Tucson it could lead to the dismissal of many thousands of DUI cases. The Intoxilyzer 8000 was placed in service in Tucson on December 1, 2006. In all of 2007 and so far this year, Tucson police have charged 5,963 motorists with suspicion of driving under the influence in Arizona.

A county judge has given CMI until November 10 to provide the source code in electronic format.

The cruiser has emergency lights mounted along the inside, top edge of the front windshield rather than the roof, a computer with two monitors, special lights for side visibility, a digital mobile video system linked to two cameras for recording traffic stops arrests and a Doppler radar. The radar allows officers to scan traffic in both directions simultaneously and it automatically identifies the fastest cars in its range.

The drivers of the vehicle are also unique. The designated DUI team has been trained to draw blood samples to check blood alcohol content of suspected drunk drivers, and are trained in drug recognition.

The cruiser was paid for through a $40,000 grant from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

The officers located a red Jeep described at the scene, and they disarmed and removed Charles Lherault from the vehicle. Lherault, 45, told officers that he did not want another man attending the alcohol program and pointed a gun at him. After asking the other man if he was ‘scared to die, Lherault fired his gun once, missing the intended victim. The bullet lodged in the wall of a nearby barbecue stand.

Lherault reportedly had a holstered pistol on each hip and a gun in his lap at the time of his arrest. He was charged with second degree attempted homicide and driving under the influence in Arizona.

A 33-year old Michigan woman with Lherault at the time also had a gun confiscated, though she was not charged with a crime.

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The Pinal County Sheriff’s department is responsible for keeping documents that show that Intoxilyzer 8000 equipment used to determine a motorist’s blood alcohol content had been properly tested and maintained. It has been revealed that the department could not produce the results of quality assurance tests for a 14 month period; from April 2007 to June 2008. According to the sheriff’s department, the equipment is supposed to be calibrated every 30 days and undergo more rigorous tests every 90 days. Documentation of the maintenance is to be kept by the department until all pertinent criminal cases are finalized. Improperly maintained equipment could result in an inaccurate BAC reading and a false conviction for drinking and driving in Arizona.

Concerns were expressed by the Pinal County prosecutor after not receiving records despite repeated requests, and a complaint was documented in a May 2008 email. An internal investigation into the records keeping was launched in June, though news of the records loss was not revealed until an announcement this week.

The loss of maintenance records involves cases in front of the Apache Corner Justice Court, and covers Arizona DUI arrests in the Santan and Gold Canyon areas of Pinal County.

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During 2007 the grant paid for 107 extra police shifts that netted 152 Arizona drunk driving arrests. Special DUI patrols are scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, prom and graduation season, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.

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Campbell was involved in a minor accident on November 24 and he fled the scene. He was later arrested at his Phoenix home and charged with driving under the influence. His blood alcohol content registered 0.20%. The legal limit is 0.08 and Arizona DUI laws stipulate a BAC above 0.15% as Extreme DUI.

Campbell is permitted to leave the jail between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m on a work furlough. The country singer maintains a regular musical rehearsal and practice schedule. Campbell will begin serving his sentence in early July. He is prohibited from consuming alcohol during probation.

During the sentencing, Campbell told the judge, “Believe you me, I think that's the last you've seen of Glen Campbell putting alcohol in his veins.”

The 68-year old singer has lived in Arizona for more than 20 years. He is known for such hits as Rhinestone Cowboy, Galveston and By the Time I Get to Phoenix.

Are you looking for a Phoenix DUI Attorney?]]> http://www.dui.com/dui-library/arizona/news/phoenix-dui-news-extreme-arizona-dui Defensive end Adrian Awasom in Phoenix for Super Bowl arrested for Phoenix DUI. Bill Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:57:57 -0600 Adrian Awasom Adrian Awasom was arrested by the Arizona State Police for suspicion of drunk driving after being stopped at 3:00 am Friday on Interstate 10 in Phoenix. Though the results of blood tests are still pending, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has said the NFL player has been charged with extreme DUI, which indicates an elevated blood alcohol content.

The backup defensive end for the New York Giants is in Phoenix for the Super Bowl XLII. He arrived Thursday with the team, though he has been on injured reserve since September. In his third pro season Awasom has played a limited role on the team, including practice squad and special teams duty. He injured his neck in the second game of the 2007 season against the Green Bay Packers.

A spokesman for the Giants has said the team is aware of the situation and that Awasom has been sent home.

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The shirts are emblazoned with ‘Sheriff DUI Chain Gang’ on the front and ‘Clean (ing) and Sober’ on the back. The fifteen member chain gang will be responsible for cleaning streets and helping with burials of those who died of alcohol abuse.

According to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, the chain gang is the first comprised of people who have committed one type of crime. Chain gangs in the US were largely abandoned in the 1950’s after claims of prisoner abuse. Sheriff Joe Arpaio returned to the use of chain gangs in 1994 and he added a female chain gang eleven years ago. The Arizona sheriff is also known for creating a tent city with few creature comforts for those found guilty of crime and for issuing pink underwear to inmates.

Maricopa County, Arizona Attorney Andrew Thomas has announced a campaign aimed at reducing drunk driving in the Phoenix area. He is going to put photographs of motorists arrested for Arizona DUI on billboards and a website.

The campaign will feature faces of those convicted of Arizona DUI. The billboards will be erected in time for the upcoming holidays and remain in place through New Year’s Day. A related website will outline details of the drunk driving arrest and indicate whether there were any injuries.

Thomas, lead prosecutor in Maricopa County, wants drivers to think twice about drinking and driving by seeing the consequences of their decisions. In addition to the threat of jail time and loss of license, Thomas wants shame to be a DUI deterrent.

The campaign costs approximately three-quarters of a million dollars, and it has been paid for by an Arizona DUI-fighting grant and from a state fund containing assets seized from RICO criminal offenders.

Arizona DUI defense attorneys have long argued the problems associated with breath samples for determining a legal threshold in drunk driving cases. Aside from equipment calibration and maintenance issues, discrepancies in readings can occur through incorrect administration of the test. As recently as the year 2000, nearly 1,400 Arizona DUI cases were dismissed in Phoenix and Glendale alone due to legal challenges to the machine results. To complicate the issue, a new Arizona law requires the installation of an ignition interlock device for everyone convicted of DUI, even first time offenders. With the consequences so high, the need for accuracy becomes even more important.

While both blood and breath tests can gauge a motorist’s blood-alcohol concentration, breath testing equipment has been the norm for identifying drunk drivers because of portability and immediate results.

Mesa has been using blood evidence for almost ten years. Scottsdale, Chandler and Peoria police departments also collect blood samples in DUI cases. Phoenix became able to process large numbers of blood samples after the opening of its new crime lab earlier this year. About 40 percent of the Phoenix police precincts have transitioned from breath to blood tests since last March.

Blood evidence will be collected at the precinct or by an officer in the field. Though officers must complete training in blood drawing, defense attorneys say it is not the same as a hospital environment with health professionals. Subsequently, the results can be compromised depending on how and when the samples are collected and how they are handled.

In addition, the actual blood is not tested to determine blood alcohol content. A machine reads the alcohol molecules in the air above the blood, leading to another potentially subjective interpretation.

The efforts will include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and use undercover officers. While there are no official DUI statistics for the new department Maricopa Police Chief Patrick Melvin says that drunk drivers are out there and that the area’s citizens want police to deal with them.

Before the creation of the Maricopa Police Department last July, law enforcement was provided by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. The county will continue to assist the town through July 2008 as Maricopa develops its own services.

Ignition interlock devices prohibit a car from being started until the motorist provides a virtually alcohol free breath sample. They also require periodic tests while the car is in operation to ensure the driver is sober. Arizona law previously required interlock devices after someone had been convicted of multiple DUI offenses or had registered a blood alcohol content in excess of 0.15, also termed extreme drunk driving. The recently passed legislation extended the interlock requirement to everyone convicted of drunk driving, even first time DUI offenders.

During discussion on last month’s bill, statistics citing accident reductions from the installation of interlock devices after a first time DUI were provided by the state of New Mexico. New Mexico is the only other state in the country that requires ignition interlock devices for all DUI offenders. It has since come to light that the statistics on the impact of ignition interlocks covered all DUI arrests as well as other traffic enforcement measures. That dilutes the perceived benefit of mandatory interlock devices for first time offenders.

Opponents also cite reports of mixed results on the ineffectiveness of interlock devices. Others are concerned about motorists who rely solely on the use of a motorcycle. As interlock devices cannot be installed on them, the result would be no form of personal transportation. The high cost of installing and renting an ignition interlock device has also been discussed, with a concern on family budgets.

Gov. Napolitano has said she would veto any measure that relaxes the new DUI law.

The legislation is modeled after a New Mexico ignition interlock law that contributed to a 12 percent drop in alcohol related traffic fatalities.

While it is widely accepted that an ignition-interlock requirement is needed for repeat offenders and chronic alcohol abusers, there are concerns over its application to those arrested for their first DUI. Citing the fact that the majority of those charged with DUI never have an additional offense, opponents of the Arizona law feel it is an excessive penalty for otherwise socially responsible drinkers.

The Arizona Motor Vehicle Division predicts 14,000 first time DUI offenders will be required to have an interlock device installed in their vehicle. Monitoring compliance will be difficult, as already seen in New Mexico where 40% of offenders say they do not own a vehicle and do not plan to drive, thus exempting them from the court requirement for a device. The Arizona law would require those convicted of a DUI to have an ignition interlock device on every vehicle they drive, which raises questions company owned vehicles.

The Arizona DUI legislation also creates a category of extreme drunken driving for motorists with a blood-alcohol content in excess of 0.20 percent. Such offenders would be required to spend 45 days in jail with no time suspended. The governor of Arizona recently signed into law a measure that requires anyone arrested with a BAC over 0.15 percent to spend 30 days in jail.

The new Arizona bill was widely passed both the state House and Senate before being sent to the governor for her signature.

Statistically, nearly two-thirds of all accidents resulting in an alcohol related fatality involved a driver with a BAC of at least 0.15, or nearly twice the legal limit. Waring calls these drivers “dangerous.” Currently state law defines an Arizona DUI has having a BAC of 0.08 and an extreme DUI as 0.15. Waring would like a new Arizona DUI classification that would apply to drivers with a BAC of 0.20 or higher. To reach a BAC of 0.20, 150-pound person would have to drink eight alcoholic beverages in an hour.

Waring would also like to prevent judges from suspending the sentence of extreme DUI offenders. The law allows for the partial suspension of a sentence if the drunk driver completes an alcohol treatment/education program.

The Arizona State Senate Transportation Committee has approved Waring’s legislation. It has yet to be voted on by the full Senate or House of Representatives. Whereas opponents are equally interested in fighting drunk driving, they cite the financial impact of incarcerating more offenders. Most expenses associated with jailing a DUI offender would impact the budgets of local municipalities.

MADD feels that extreme Arizona DUI offenders, especially repeat alcoholic drivers, necessitate a ‘tough crackdown’ in state law.

The mobile unit will be positioned around the city near police activities targeting DUI, speeding, aggressive driving and seat belt
violations. The state-of-the-art ‘one stop’ van will place valuable resources the site of law enforcement, which, according to Glendale
Police Chief Steve Conrad, will “help our officers process a DUI from start to finish in much less time. It will allow for collection of
evidence much quicker, resulting in getting officers back on to the streets to catch more people who should not be driving.” The van could reduce the processing of a DUI case from several hours to just 45 minutes.

The vehicle is also considered a visual deterrent due to its large size and easily identifiable graphic markings.

The van was purchased with a grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and it will be shared with Arizona DUI Task Forces in neighboring communities. In addition to aiding police officers with public safety, the van will be used as an educational tool, particularly during Holiday anti-DUI campaigns and community events.