OUI and DWI Breathalyzer Cases
- Steven Topazio wrote this July 10, 2023 at 4:02 pm
If you were found guilty of drunk driving because of a failed Breathalyzer test you can still fight the
case to get your OUI Conviction Overturned.
OUI and DWI Breathalyzer Cases:
In the case of Commonwealth v. Hallinan, 491 Mass. 730 (2023), the court determined that all defendants who pleaded guilty or went to trial in an OUI or DWI case and submitted to a breathalyzer test with a Draeger Alcotest 9510 from June 1, 2011 to April 18, 2019 will receive a presumption of egregious governmental misconduct in their case and the breath test will not be admissible at any retrial.
The Hallinan Case:
Lindsay Hallinan was one of the tens of thousands of Draeger 9510 defendants who pleaded guilty in the face of a breath test over .08% conducted using the Draeger 9510. After her motion for new trial was denied, she appealed, and the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) granted direct appellate review. The SJC determined that it had been an error to deny her motion for new trial, granted her motion, and set forth the standard for all Draeger 9510 cases between June 1, 2011 and April 18, 2019.
The standard for these cases going forward is in two parts:
First, you will be entitled to a conclusive presumption of egregious governmental misconduct if a Draeger 9510 was used in your case. There is no need to demonstrate that the specific breathalyzer in your case was mis-calibrated – all you must show is that a Draeger 9510 was used.
Second, you must show a reasonable probability that you would not have pleaded guilty had you known of the misconduct. The factors that should be considered when examining the reasonable probability prong are: (1) whether evidence of the government misconduct could have detracted from the factual basis used to support the guilty plea, (2) whether the evidence could have been used to impeach a witness whose credibility may have been outcome-determinative, (3) whether the evidence is cumulative of other evidence already in the defendant’s possession, (4) whether the evidence would have influenced counsel’s recommendation as to whether to accept a particular plea offer, and (5) whether the value of the evidence was outweighed by the benefits of entering into the plea agreement. Hallinan, 491 Mass. 730, 750.
What to do: Consult with a Criminal lawyer and consider filing a Motion for New Trial
Because there is a presumption of egregious misconduct for all OUI or DWI cases involving a Draeger Alcotest 9510 from June 1, 2011 to April 18, 2019, if you want to overturn your conviction, you should consider a Breathalyzer challenge with a motion for a new trial. You will need to prove you would not have pled guilty had you known the breath test could not have been admitted at trial.
Contact Attorney Topazio to evaluate your case.
Commonwealth v. Hallinan, 491 Mass. 730 (2023)
Background photo courtesy of Charles Postiaux