There are ways to dispute the results of a breathalyzer test, but you must have a DUI attorney there to represent you.

When you are pulled over by a police officer and given a breathalyzer test, the results are not necessarily an indication that you are guilty of the charges. Regardless what results the testing showed, you have the right to hire an expert attorney who can help you to dispute the breathalyzer test in court. Whether or not you can be cleared of the charges depends on how well you can dispute the specific facts of your case. Here are some the ways that you may dispute the results of a breathalyzer test when you are in court.

Doing Your Homework

Take the time to build a case showing how unreliable the breathalyzer can be. There are several cases from across the country when residents where able to prove to a judge and jury that the machine gave false readings. An Iowa man showed by blowing high readings caused the device to deliver inaccurate readings. In Ohio, an appeals court found one brand of breathalyzer testing equipment was not reliable. If you can accumulate enough evidence, you have a great change of disputing the results of your own test.

Calibration of Equipment

When the arresting officer appears in court, your DUI attorney will have the right to ask them questions about how the breathalyzer testing was performed. One successful way that the results can be dismissed is if the lawyer asks the police officer about the calibration of the breathalyzer unit. In order for the device to provide the most accurate results concerning a drivers blood alcohol concentration, the unit must be calibrated. If the attorney can prove the unit has not been calibrated properly, your results could be thrown out.

Improper Training

Similar to the calibration of the breathalyzer testing equipment, the arresting office must be properly trained to work this highly sensitive device. The lawyer will approach the police office and request they provide the court details as to the amount of training that they have operating this particular breathalyzer. If the officer did not have the appropriate amount of training to be operating the unit, all their testimony with respect to the breathalyzer test results will be deemed unreliable.

Illegal Breathalyzer Test

Even if the breathalyzer was calibrated and the office is sufficiently trained to operate it, your attorney still has the ability to have the results dismissed from the case. The officer must have had probable cause to order you to take the test, meaning they needed sufficient evidence to pull you over and probable cause to assume you were intoxicated. The smell of alcohol, slurred speech, and erratic driving are all probable cause for the breathalyzer test. Without these being present, you have the right to challenge the results.

You do have the right to dispute a breathalyzer test in court, and if you can dispute the results with any of the means discussed, you might actually beat the case.