So the breathalyzer is racist!

caption not necessary

Way back in November 2008, when the world was a rosier place, I asked if the breathalyzer was racist. The post was based on a comment by noted DUI lawyer Jay Ruane, who challenged the use of the Intoxilyzer 5000 by the State of CT. The claim was supported by the research of a Dr. Hlastala, who has found that because the lung capacity of black men is 3% less than that of  a white man, the results were inaccurate when testing African-Americans.

Perhaps motivated by this claim or the increasing cost of maintaining the I-5000, CT is now moving to another device to measure BAC: the equally crappily named Alcotest 7110 MK III-C. (Who comes up with these names? Seriously? Why can’t they be named BAC test machine 1 and 2?) At a cost of almost $1 million, the BAC TM1 will be replaced by the BAC TM2, at which point we will start investigating the reliability of that instrument (more on that after the jump). But first, a quote from the State Police:

“It will be replacing the Intoxilizer 5000 that is currently used by police departments in the state,” [State Police spokesman] Vance said. “The new machines are better technology. The current machines are seven years old and the cost to maintain them far outweighs buying new ones.”

Vance said the new equipment was selected by a special committee made up of law-enforcement officials and scientific experts. They are now used by police departments in New York and New Jersey.

Right, New Jersey. New Jersey uses the BAC TM2, but only after much controversy. EvidenceProf has the skinny:

that controversy went as follows:

-the Supreme Court of New Jersey had questions about the reliability of that test;

-appointed retired appellate judge Michael Patrick King as special master to investigate the technology and report his findings on it;

-Judge King initially reported that the technology was unreliable in a 268 page report;

-Judge King later reversed himself in a 108 page report, which indicated that despite “minor defects” with the technology, it is more reliable than the Breathalyzer; and

-the Supreme Court of New Jersey found that the Alcotest was sufficiently reliable to be used in drunk driving prosecutions, but only if officers follow certain procedures such as observing suspects for twenty minutes before administering the test.

So CT has moved from one useless machine to another. Bravo. And what of all the thousands of people convicted of DUI on the strength of the BAC TM1?