In every state in the U.S., drivers can be punished for refusing a breath test when they're suspected of drunk driving.
But our investigation found they are often unreliable, even as they help convict thousands of a crime they may not have committed.
nyti.ms/2C6IYcX
But our investigation found they are often unreliable, even as they help convict thousands of a crime they may not have committed.
nyti.ms/2C6IYcX
With drunk driving, a small variation in blood-alcohol level is the difference between committing a crime or not.
We uncovered glitches, poor lab work and other errors that cast doubt on tens of thousands of drunk-driving cases nationwide. Here's some of what we found.
We uncovered glitches, poor lab work and other errors that cast doubt on tens of thousands of drunk-driving cases nationwide. Here's some of what we found.
Across the U.S., convictions are now being challenged and overturned due to human error. One court called a state's testing device a “magic black box” with “significant and continued anomalies.” Massachusetts threw out all of its breath test results from 2011 to mid-2019.
In state after state, we found examples of loose oversight, including Washington State officials who debated whether to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an outside expert to evaluate the device’s underlying software. They never did.
As states throw out years of results, it's inevitable that some dangerous drivers will get back on the road. In Massachusetts, a man with a suspended license — who was pulled over and blew a 0.32, 4 times the legal limit — was acquitted after his test was tossed.
.@StacyCowley and @jbsgreenberg interviewed more than 100 lawyers, scientists, executives and police officers to reveal a nationwide problem. Thousands of breath tests have already been thrown out. More challenges are coming.
Read our full investigation:
nyti.ms/2C6IYcX
Read our full investigation:
nyti.ms/2C6IYcX
