Breath Tests Axed in 49 Ariz. DUI Cases; Could Be Statewide Issue

A municipal judge in Tucson, Ariz., has excluded breath tests as evidence in 49 driving under the influence cases because the company that made the machine that conducted the alcohol-content examinations didn't disclose the source code that controls its inner workings to the defense.

The same issue could also potentially eliminate as evidence "every alcohol breath test conducted in the state since Dec. 1, 2006, when Arizona adopted the Intoxilyzer 8000 machine made by CMI," reports the Tucson Citizen.

"This could be huge," says defense attorney James Nesci. In addition to being involved in the DUI cases at issue before City Court Judge Thomas Berning, he is the author of the book How to Beat a DUI, the newspaper notes.