Minnesota Sues Breath-Test Machine Maker in MN DWI Issue

Minneapolis drunk driving cases may be dismissed because of maker’s refusal to provide requested data.

Minnesota is suing the manufacturer of breath-test equipment used throughout the state to determine blood alcohol content (BAC) in suspected Minnesota DWI arrests. While publicly stating confidence in the Intoxilyzer 5000EN, the lawsuit stems from the legal impact of not being able to review the software used to determine BAC in drinking and driving cases. Whereas the contract between the state and CMI of Kentucky Inc allows access to the equipment’s ‘source code’, CMI has refused to provide it, citing proprietary secrets.

In its lawsuit the state argues that CMI’s refusal to provide the source code has lead to numerous, sometimes contradictory, lower court rulings about the admissibility of breath-test evidence in Minnesota drunk driving trials.

Minneapolis DWI attorney Marsh Halberg of Halberg Criminal Defense says that without access to the computer program’s source code, there is no way of determining the accuracy of the equipment’s results. That could result in motorists who do not meet the legal definition of Driving While Impaired in Minnesota still being charged with a drunk driving offense.

According to Minnesota DWI law, breath test results are presumed reliable and can be introduced as evidence in a drinking and driving case. Accused motorists however have the right to challenge the evidence. Not having access to the source code limits the defense team’s ability to question accuracy and calibration issues. Judges in more than 100 cases, including those on the state’s Supreme Court, have established the defendant’s right to have access to the computer program.

It was a recent Supreme Court decision affirming the right of the accused to have access to the code that set off the decision to sue CMI.

For further information on this issue, visit this link: www.twincities.com/ci_8443099.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Hennepin County, MN you will need a Minneapolis DWI Lawyer.