Fox Bowman Duarte Notes That Washington Supreme Court Prohibits Use of Controversial DUI Breath Test Results

BELLEVUE, Wash.--July 1, 2004--Today, the Washington Supreme Court affirmed lower courts throughout the state which had suppressed breath tests for the state's failure to comply with reliability regulations. In affirming the decisions, the Court unanimously agreed that breath tests in this state "must be reliable, both to further the safety of our streets, and to insure just application of our law." The Court found that, in these specific cases, the regulations were not followed. Therefore the breath test results affected by the Supreme Court's decision will not be able to be used in DUI prosecutions.

Attorneys at Fox Bowman Duarte, a Bellevue law firm well known for defending DUI cases, explained that they initially discovered that thermometers used in breath test machines throughout the state were not being appropriately maintained. In response, the State Toxicologist enacted rules to assure the reliability of the thermometers. It was then discovered that the State ignored the Toxicologist's regulations which led to today's unanimous Supreme Court decision.

The attorneys commented, "We are pleased to see that the Supreme Court agreed that the reliability of breath testing is crucial. While we have the utmost respect for the folks in our state's breath test program, we hope that today's decision will serve to improve that program as a whole, leading to increasingly fair and just trials for all defendants."

About Fox Bowman Duarte

The partners at Fox Bowman Duarte are leaders in the field of DUI defense and are the only attorneys to have received the specialized State Patrol Breath Test Technician training regarding the DataMaster breath testing device.