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Wrongly Accused of a Michigan DUI?

by ptbarone on February 23, 2010

DUI Police

If you feel you have been wrongly accused of drunk driving in the state of Michigan, you could be right. Recently, in a Vermont court room, one judge issued an order against a state trooper who claimed that the driver’s BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was 0.102 in order to support license-suspension citation when in fact the driver’s BAC was only 0.069, well below the legal limit of 0.08. (Sam Hemingway of the Burlington Press)

The law states that roadside preliminary breath tests like the one administered by Officer David Robillard are not admissible in court. In this case, Robillard used these preliminary results in the police report he filed, thus supporting a charge of negligent operation of a motor vehicle leading to a driver’s license suspension against 45-year old William Henn of Lowell, Vermont.

In the police report, Robillard described a sequence of events that had led him to believe Henn was driving under the influence of alcohol. He first witnessed the driver swerve across the center lane, pull over to the side of the road, and exit the vehicle without putting it in park. It was after viewing this that Robillard initiated the traffic stop. He conducted a preliminary breath test which produced a result of 0.118 percent.

Officer Robillard believed that the law allowed him to revise the driver’s breath test reading to what he thought was a scientifically valid figure. A sworn affidavit from a state chemist found that Henn’s BAC was 0.102, which is the figure Robillard had used in his accusations. However, when the driver performed the Datamaster breathalyzer test back at the station, the sixth test proved that his BAC was only 0.069. (The first five tests were invalid from Henn blowing short breaths into the device.) At this point, any and all drunk driving charges against Henn were invalid.

When reviewing your Michigan drunk driving case, it is important for you and your highly trained DUI attorney to take a look at such details related to the events of the arrest. If the arresting officer cannot prove that your blood alcohol level was over the legal limit, the charge could well be dismissed.

Get a FREE confidential CASE EVALUATION on your Michigan OWI/OWVI/DUI by calling (248) 306-9159 , or filling out this consultation request form. Call now, there’s no obligation!

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

wasteof time March 1, 2010 at 8:47 pm

Your an idiot…….this guy was convicted of the crime……the subject wasn't below the .08 at the time of the stop……which is what this and every DUI stop is based upon. A chemist report was obtained due to the fact that several hours later when this guy finally took the test he blew below the .08% limit….that chemist report (relate back affidavit) showed this guy was a .102%. What your referencing is a judges decision of whether or not a civil suspension can be issued based upon that chemist report…….this decision is being appealed…..get your facts straight you moron…..why dont you research your facts before you spew your lies!!!

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