October 27, 2012 | Breath Tests

The fourth way to defend against the new Intoxilyzer 8000 in Dayton, Ohio is time.  The prosecutor is having difficulty bringing Ohio Department of Health (ODH) representatives to court.

The reps are needed because the machines belong to the ODH.   They also calibrate and maintain the machines.

They are needed to testify about placing the machine in service, checking the calibration, and maintain the test results and repair records for three years.

The old machines were owned by the police departments and had senior officers that kept the records and did the calibration checks onsite.  It was never a problem to get these officers in court with the records.

The new model is defective because the tests are now being challenged in every county in Ohio.  With over 400 machines in service, and over 23,000 DUI / OVI arrest in Ohio by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in 2011 alone, that makes for a lot of testifying.

There about 10 people that testify about the calibration of the machines, but the ODH only has one program administrator, Mary Martin.  She has been subpoenaed to every court in Ohio and her job appears to be to travel all over Ohio to testify about records retention online.

Lately this was working because they ODH would disclose her schedule and her appearance could be predicted with some certainty.  One representative from the ODH told my office that they will no longer give out her schedule or plan to be in certain courts on certain days.

She will have to be subpoenaed and they will send her where she needs to go based on the order in which the subpoenas come in.  This is a scheduling nightmare and gives rise to the remedy of dismissal of the case or at the very least the breath test for a violation of due process, speedy trial, and statutory time limits allowed the prosecutor by law.

Call the OVI attorney’s at Suhre & Associates if you have been arrested for OVI or DUI in the Dayton area – including: Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Darke, Clark, Clinton, Allen, Ross, or Champaign counties; or, in the following cities: Riverside, Oh., Kettering, Oh., West Carrollton, Oh., Huber Heights, Oh., Trotwood, Oh., Beavercreek, Oh., Vandalia, Oh., Centerville, Oh., Miamisburg, Oh., Englewood, Oh., Fairborn, Oh., Clayton, Oh., Tipp City, Oh., Springboro, Oh., Xenia, Oh. – Call one of our qualified DUI attorneys at 937-531-0435.  We are available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.  Because now is the perfect time to put our team of OVI lawyers in Dayton which includes a FORMER POLICE OFFICER and a FORMER PROSECUTORS to work… for you!

To learn more, call our Dayton Criminal Defense law firm at (937) 531-0435 or visit our contact us page to send us an email.