A legal challenge involving repairs to Breathalyzer machines is prompting a review of about 950 pending DUI cases in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
The State Attorney’s Office told WJCT, a News4JAX news partner, that it is reviewing cases involving potentially impacted instruments. A court has not ruled that all breath-test results are invalid, but legal experts expect additional challenges.
The issue involves the Intoxilyzer 8000, a machine used to measure a driver’s breath-alcohol level after an arrest. Attorneys say the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement performed unauthorized repairs on the machines instead of state-approved routine maintenance.
The initial legal challenge involved a Jacksonville man arrested last year on Beach Boulevard. A three-judge panel suppressed his breath-test results after the Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that O-rings inside the machine had been replaced without records documenting the work.
JSO also issued a statement:
“JSO has made no changes to any current Agency Inspection or Breath Testing Procedures. All repairs are completed through an approved repair facility. The monthly Agency Inspection documentation for the instruments notates when an instrument is sent for repairs or when each instrument is Departmentally Inspected by FDLE’s Alcohol Testing Program annually. JSO does not make any repairs to these instruments.”
Defense attorney David Robbins, who discussed the case on WJCT’s First Coast Connect, said the issue could affect breath tests conducted over a 10-year period statewide.
“Theoretically speaking, every breath test from 2016 to 2026, some lawyer could take a look to see what’s happening,” Robbins said. “Ten years, yes, 10 years.”
Robbins said the lack of documentation raises questions about whether the machines were properly maintained and whether the test results are reliable.
“If you go to a trial or hearing, the state submits a piece of paper that says we’ve abided by all the rules; therefore, the breath test is admissible,” Robbins said.
He added, “A lot of this turned out to be not reliable at all. The worst thing is that they wrote the rules, but they are not abiding by the rules.”
The ruling raises questions about other machines that may have received similar work and could affect cases in which Breathalyzer results were used as evidence.
The State Attorney’s Office issued the following statement:
“Our review on this matter is ongoing. For any case involving an impacted instrument, the State will take the necessary steps to show the scientific reliability of those breath test results so they can be admitted by the court until this issue is resolved. To date, no cases have been reduced or dismissed for this reason.”
Herb Ellis with the Ellis Law Firm who is not associated in any pending litigation, said defense attorneys commonly challenge all the procedures used during a DUI arrest.
Ellis said the legal dispute could lead to reviews of cases across Florida.
“If it’s not trustworthy or accurate, it’s inadmissible,” Ellis said. “And if not admissible, I could see thousands of cases being dismissed or compromised to something lower than DUI.”
Ellis said defendants have a constitutional right to accurate, lawfully obtained evidence.
“Those people have the right, if they’re going to be charged with something, that what they’re charged with is accurate and lawfully obtained evidence,” Ellis said. “And if it’s not, it’s subject to challenge.”
Excluding a breath-test result does not automatically mean a DUI case will be dismissed. Prosecutors may rely on other evidence, including body-camera video, field sobriety exercises and witness testimony.
Law enforcement agencies statewide make between 33,000 and 45,000 DUI arrests each year. Duval County records about 3,500 DUI arrests annually.
It’s worth noting that even if a breath-test result is thrown out, that doesn’t mean a DUI charge is automatically dropped because a case can be made on other evidence, such as bodycam footage.
