New Lawsuit Regarding Alcotest Machine
The landmark DWI decision of State v. Chun was handed down in March 2008. In that case, the New Jersey Supreme Court found the Alcotest breath testing machine for DWI prosecutions to be reliable enough for use in New Jersey courts. The Court required that certain changes be made "forthwith" in the Order dated March 17, 2008. The New Jersey Bar filed a lawsuit this week alleging that the Attorney General's Office has failed to make the necessary upgrades to the software and to establish a public database of Alcotest results. As you can see, it has been more than a year since the Court's decision in Chun.
The New Jersey Bar seeks an Order to Show Cause why the State hasn't complied with the software and database requirements and requests that the Court appoint a special master to hear applications for enforcement of the Chun decision. The Bar alleges that the manufacturer devised the software revisions shortly after Chun but that the State has not approved the implementation of same. Further, the database was to include any and all Alcotest breath samples and readings taken in New Jersey so DWI defense attorneys could compare their client's readings to others around the state.
It will be very interesting to see how this turns out. This could have a significant impact on DWI prosecutions in New Jersey where Alcotest readings are used to prove intoxication.
