Breath Test/Intoxilyzer

The primary Breathalyzer in Ohio is the BAC DataMaster manufactured by National Patent Analytical Systems of Mansfield, Ohio. Ohio also uses the Intoxilyzer 5000 and the BAC Verifier. These machines use a principle called infrared spectrometry. Ohio will be transitioning to the Intoxilyer 8000, as it has decided to spend $6.4 million in federal grant money on 700 units of the portable breath-testing device. The Intoxilyzer 8000's are expected to debut in a pilot program in southwestern Ohio in January 2009.

Several Ohio lawyers expect a glut of challenges of the Intoxilyzer 8000 based on possible inaccuracies due to variables in temperature and humidity and radio interference. Drunk driving suspects have challenged the machines in Arizona, Minnesota and Florida with mixed results. Judges in two Florida counties have levied big fines against CMI Inc., the Kentucky company that makes the Intoxilyzer 8000, because it refuses to make public the machine's computer source code so its accuracy can be tested.

Challenges to the general reliability of breathalyzer results cannot be made in Ohio. In 1984, the Ohio Supreme Court in State v. Vega (1984), 12 Ohio St.3d 185, 465 N.E.2d 1303, significantly curtailed the defenses a defendant can present concerning the reliability of the breathalyzer results. As a result, in Ohio, defense attorneys have focused on the Ohio Department of Health regulations for problems with blood, breath, and urine evidence.

If you have been charged with an OVI / DUI / DWI, it is imperative that you contact an attorney. Please call 216.225.9181, Email, or use the contact form to schedule an initial consultation.