Pending motions to suppress breath test results
Thursday, March 20th, 2008In early March motions were heard in Pinellas County Court to suppress the breath test results on all test performed with the new Intoxilyzer 8000 machines in Pinellas County. Judge Donald Horrox is scheduled to rule on the motions in late March or early April 2008. The motions are based on similar motions granted in Leon County last fall. The motions state that the results of a breath can be influenced by the length of time a person blows in to the machine and the strength of the blow. In other words, the longer and stronger a person blows the higher the reading. Experts were presented who verified this problem in the machines. If the motions are granted it could affect most DUI cases in Pinellas County.
In late April Judge Horrox denied the motions on the breath machine. Certainly some of the cases will be tried and, if a loss occurs, an appeal on this suppression will follow. Unfortunately, the defense can not file an appeal before a trial. We are keeping tabs on the cases from Tallahassee in that regard. The fight continues.