DWI Breath Testing: The Intoxilyzer IS NOT Warranted to measure Alcohol concentration! by Collin County DWI lawyer Troy Burleson
by Plano DWI attorney Troy Burleson
When it comes to DWI, your innocence or guilt depends largely if not entirely upon what a machine says. The simple fact is that people are being convicted of a crime — beyond a reasonable doubt — based entirely upon what a machine says. That being said, the question every citizen should ask is “Are we that sure of the machine’s accuracy?”
A better question would be, “Are the manufacturers of the machine sure of its accuracy?”
The machine used in Texas in DWI cases is the “Intoxilyzer 5000″, manufactured by CMI, Inc. How reliable is this machine at measuring alcohol in a person’s blood by measuring his breath? How accurate? Well, what do the manufacturers think? How confidant are they that these devices are reliable enough to send a man to jail?
Let’s take a look at their manufacturer’s warranty. The following is from their manual’s “Statement of Warranty”:
“CMI, Inc., a subsidiary of MPD, Inc., warrants that each new product will be free from defects in material and workmanship, under normal use and service, for a period of one year from the date of delivery to the first user-purchaser….”
One year? These things are warranted for only one year? Model 5000s are commonly found in service at law enforcement agencies for ten years or more. What if there’s a problem with the machine requiring repair by the manufacturer? “Repaired components are warranted for a period of 90 days from the date of repair.” 90 days? My kitchen toaster has a better warranty. But the “warranty” continues:
“There are no other warranties expressed or implied, including but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose….”What? CMI, Inc., says this machine is not warranted for any “particular purpose” — which, for the Intoxilyzer 5000, is measuring alcohol on the breath. So they don’t guarantee that it will measure breath alcohol?
Anyone who knows anything about products liability law well tell you the above warranty is the manufactured saying, “if you end up going to jail because of defects in our machines, you can’t sue us.”
Is this what “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” should mean?
