LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Nearly 600 DUI cases could be in jeopardy, according to the Jefferson County Attorney. Mike O'Connell says his office has discovered several problems with the certifications of officers who have performed DUI breathalyzer tests since September.
O'Connell says, "We will be reviewing each of these cases on a case-by-case basis to determine how best to go forward. We'll be contacting those defendants who had counsel, be contacting their counsel as well."
O'Connell says the problem is that four breathalyzer technicians with the department of corrections allowed their certifications to lapse in September. That results in invalid tests for nearly 6-hundred DUI cases. "Breathalyzer results are probably the most important--single most important piece of evidence in a trial," says O'Connell.
Those tests are important, but not the only thing prosecutors rely on to get a conviction, according to O'Connell. "For example, you know many of the officers who made these arrests have a video of what they were doing, they administer field sobriety test which is you all are familiar with."
Louisville criminal defense attorney Frank Mascagni III sees it differently. He says, "Lets cut to the chase, if you don't have scientific evidence to prove to a jury by a unanimous vote of 6 out of 6 that my client blew higher than a point oh 8, I'm going to beat you up."
Mascagni handles dozens of DUI cases and is already looking for matches between the breathalyzer technicians with his clients. "If any of these four officers that I have been may aware of are on my cases, I'm going to make a motion to dismiss," says Mascagni.
Metro Corrections released a statement saying the certifications of the four DUI breathalyzer technicians had lapsed in September. It said that was because of a system allowing the technicians to keep track of certification themselves. Now the department will monitor those recertification dates itself and make sure technicians are recertified at least two months early. But Mascagni says that's no excuse.
"How in the hell did these guys go three months...four months without certification and how in the heck did his supervisor not catch it?"
The problem was discovered on Tuesday. The technicians with the lapsed certifications will not handle DUIbreathalyzer duties until they are recertified in January.
O'Connell says, "We will be reviewing each of these cases on a case-by-case basis to determine how best to go forward. We'll be contacting those defendants who had counsel, be contacting their counsel as well."
O'Connell says the problem is that four breathalyzer technicians with the department of corrections allowed their certifications to lapse in September. That results in invalid tests for nearly 6-hundred DUI cases. "Breathalyzer results are probably the most important--single most important piece of evidence in a trial," says O'Connell.
Those tests are important, but not the only thing prosecutors rely on to get a conviction, according to O'Connell. "For example, you know many of the officers who made these arrests have a video of what they were doing, they administer field sobriety test which is you all are familiar with."
Louisville criminal defense attorney Frank Mascagni III sees it differently. He says, "Lets cut to the chase, if you don't have scientific evidence to prove to a jury by a unanimous vote of 6 out of 6 that my client blew higher than a point oh 8, I'm going to beat you up."
Mascagni handles dozens of DUI cases and is already looking for matches between the breathalyzer technicians with his clients. "If any of these four officers that I have been may aware of are on my cases, I'm going to make a motion to dismiss," says Mascagni.
Metro Corrections released a statement saying the certifications of the four DUI breathalyzer technicians had lapsed in September. It said that was because of a system allowing the technicians to keep track of certification themselves. Now the department will monitor those recertification dates itself and make sure technicians are recertified at least two months early. But Mascagni says that's no excuse.
"How in the hell did these guys go three months...four months without certification and how in the heck did his supervisor not catch it?"
The problem was discovered on Tuesday. The technicians with the lapsed certifications will not handle DUIbreathalyzer duties until they are recertified in January.