Alcotest 7110 machineBad Alcotest Calibrations Invalidate More Than 20,000 DWI Charges
In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, the court said that the technician's failure to properly calibrate the breath-test machines means that 20,667 cases must be either retried, in the case of convictions, or perhaps abandoned, if they are still pending.
November 13, 2018 at 01:45 PM
4 minute read
The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed with a special master that a state police technician's errors in calibrating Alcotest devices negate the validity of more than 20,000 breath tests performed on defendants.
In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, the court said that the technician's failure to properly calibrate the breath-test machines means that 20,667 cases must be either retried, in the case of convictions, or perhaps abandoned, if they are still pending.
The failure to use the type of thermometer specified by the Supreme Court in State v. Chun, its landmark 2008 ruling finding the Alcotest 7110 scientifically reliable, “raises substantial doubts about the scientific reliability of breath test results produced by Alcotest devices calibrated without use of a [National Institute of Science and Technology]-traceable thermometer,” former presiding Appellate Division Judge Joseph Lisa said in a 218-page report issued to the court in May.
Writing for the court Tuesday in the long-awaited ruling in State v. Cassidy, Justice Walter Timpone said, ”We see no reason to question the special master's determination.”
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