OUI attorneys raise specter of Ananias 2 0 | Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly masslawyersweekly.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from masslawyersweekly.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s recent acknowledgement of systemic misconduct at the Office of Alcohol Testing has given the defense bar and district attorneys the framework finally to close the book on thousands of drunken-driving convictions tainted by unreliable breath tests. In its April 26 decision in Commonwealth v. Hallinan, the SJC held that the “extensive”
WORCESTER Prosecutors in several jurisdictions across the state, including on Cape Cod, are halting the use of breath test evidence following fresh concerns raised about the machines and their stewardship.
The concerns, which appear to surround disclosure that some police officers conducted tests with expired Breathalyzer certifications, come just months after notices began going out to 27,000 people statewide regarding eight years’ worth of tests invalidated for a separate calibration issue.
“The issue involves an allegation of the certification of some of the Breathalyzer operators,” said Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe on Wednesday. “That is the issue that I’ve been dealing with in terms of how that impacts the appropriateness of introducing Breathalyzer evidence.”