PA State Police Suspend Use of Breath 'Intoxilyzer'

Pennsylvania state police have temporarily suspended the use of breath test machines in drunken driving cases because of a judge's concern about accuracy, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A judge in Dauphin County recently tossed out several DUI cases after learning that the manufacturer of a widely used breath analyzer - the Intoxilyzer 5000EN - had omitted a state requirement to have a liquid solution tested by independent labs.

"The judge ruled that could potentially make the samples no good," state police spokesman Adam Reed said. "The case is being appealed. It is certainly far from over. But for cautionary reasons, we have made the temporary decision that anyone we arrest for suspicion of DUI will not be given the Breathalyzer test."

The State Police decision will have no impact in Lawrence County. The reason is the machines aren’t used by police departments here, according to Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa, reported the New Castle News.

Instead, police always have a person’s blood tested, he said.

“Any type of criminal prosecution relies on a blood test where blood is drawn at the hospital,” Lamancusa told the News.

To read more: http://articles.philly.com/2013-02-01/news/36661972_1_dui-cases-blood-samples-dui-convictions