Breath and Blood Tests

Phoenix DUI - Blood Tests - Alcohol Breath Analyzer - BAC

As a founding member of the National College of DUI Defense, and with a national reputation as a lecturer on drunk driving defense techniques in court, Arizona DUI defense lawyer Mark Weingart knows more about the science that supports blood alcohol content (BAC) testing than most of the police officers who administer blood alcohol breath tests. To find out how his experience and comprehensive understanding of BAC evidence can help you defeat a serious charge of DUI or extreme DUI, contact the AV-rated* Weingart Law Firm in Tempe for a free consultation.

Arizona law provides that the determination of BAC can be based on testing of the suspect's blood, breath, or urine, and that a person suspected of drunk driving has already given implied consent to the test.

It's up to the law enforcement officer to choose which test to administer: in Phoenix, Tempe, and Glendale, the police usually use the Intoxilyzer 8000 for an alcohol breath test. In many East Valley communities, including Scottsdale, Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler, the police prefer to administer a blood test, either at a hospital or at the police station. Insist on a hospital, and never sign a Waiver of Liability. Police stations are not ideal clinical settings by any means, and police officers are not trained nurses. If you get sick as a result of the negligent administration of a blood test, make sure you preserve your right to compensation from the responsible party.

Both standard methods of blood alcohol testing are highly controversial, and we have extensive experience both in challenging the reliability of the tests themselves and the results of a particular test on the basis of many technical variables, ranging from whether you wear dentures or hiccupped (leading to false positive "mouth alcohol" readings) to the presence of anticoagulants in your blood that can artificially inflate the reading.

With respect to the use of the Intoxilyzer 8000, the manufacturer's refusal to release its source codes make an accurate interpretation of test results very difficult, even to the point of making its use unconstitutional because of the defendant's lack of opportunity to attack the incriminating evidence. Several of our attorneys played a leading role in exposing the shortcomings of the earlier Intoxilyzer 5000, with the result that nearly 1,500 alcohol breath test readings were kept out of evidence in DUI cases.

For further information about our commitment to state of the art DUI defense on technical blood alcohol breath test issues in Arizona, contact the Weingart Law Firm in Tempe.

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings evaluate two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.