The University of Texas recently completed a study, which determined that football game days are statistically higher for the consumption of alcohol. With tailgating before the game and celebrations after, it all adds up to drinking more than average quantities over extended periods. As such, the Texas Department of Transportation had launched the “Know When to Pass” campaign.
Aimed at curtailing drunk driving during football season, the “Know When to Pass” campaign urges any adult that plans on drinking alcohol on a game day to arrange to have a “Person Appointed to Stay Sober”. (P.A.S.S.) Should there be no “P.A.S.S.” available, other viable options can be calling a taxi for transportation if you’ve been drinking, utilizing a form of mass transit, calling a friend or family member that has not been drinking, or staying put.
Should you make the mistake of driving while intoxicated, contact an experienced attorney. The Hunt Law Firm provides Lake Charles, Louisiana and the surrounding areas with DWI and DUI defense. Contact us today for more information and assistance if you have been arrested for DWI or DUI.
Posted in DUI, DWI | 
driving while intoxicated, DUI, DUI defense, DWI, P.A.S.S., Person Appointed to Stay Sober | 
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One of the big problems with the analysis of blood alcohol content is the difference of metabolism and physiology from person to person. When you combine this shortcoming with the fact that certain chemical substances can alter the levels in a blood alcohol test, the end product is false results. One of the factors that can alter the accuracy of a blood alcohol test is smoking.
The results of a scientific study reported in the British Medical Journal showed that cigarette smoking can influence the absorption of alcohol in the body. As such, this affects attempts to estimate BAC levels from earlier periods when driving based on BAC test levels. This testing of blood samples was conducted on a group of cigarette smokers both after smoking and after a prolonged period of not smoking. The tests revealed that “areas under the venous blood alcohol concentration-time curves between zero and 30 minutes and 60 minutes and the peak blood alcohol concentrations were significantly less during the smoking period compared with the non-smoking period”. During the smoking tests, gastric emptying was also found to be slower. As such, the testing revealed that the effect of smoking on alcohol absorption has “considerable social and medicolegal relevance” and that nicotine ingestion should be factored when alcohol metabolism is in question.
Another problem that contributes to false readings on breathalyzers is what is referred to as “non-specific analysis”. This means that the breathalyzer actually measures not just alcohol, but the presence of any chemical compound containing the methyl group in its molecular structure. For example, the breathalyzer can’t detect the difference between alcohol and acetaldehyde, a compound produced by the liver as a by-product in alcohol metabolism. Alcohol that is moving into the lungs from the blood can also metabolize there and will also produce acetaldehyde. Of course, the amount of acetaldehyde that is produced can vary in everyone. It so happens that concentrations of acetaldehyde in smokers’ lungs are much greater than those found in non-smokers’ lungs. As such, smokers are going to have higher false readings than non-smokers.
Having an experienced DWI attorney that knows the science and facts about breathalyzer tests and their shortcomings is essential in the defense of a DWI arrest. Contact the Hunt Law Firm for an experienced DWI defense attorney and to get more information.
Posted in DUI, DWI, Science | alcohol, BAC, blood alcohol content, Breathalyzer, DWI arrest, DWI attorney, DWI defense | Leave a comment
One of the ways that law enforcement can determine if you are driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) is by performing a blood test on the suspect. An experienced DWI lawyer knows the shortcomings of a blood test and how they can be erroneous. Some of the sources of error in DWI blood testing are as follow.
Laboratories, like any other business, try to keep down costs. As a result, they can employ staff that can be under-trained and overworked, focusing on getting any result instead of the right result. These results can lean in the favor of the prosecution, in that they get quite a bit of business from them. When combined with a lack of supervision, these types of lab incidents can be disastrous.
Contamination is another huge concern when it comes to DUI blood samples. Blood tubes need to be handled very specifically as they are extremely sensitive. Any kind of deviation from the procedures required for handling these samples can result in their scientific certitude being lost. Things like an improper chain of custody, improper storage, a lack of refrigeration, tube mishandling, and outright misplacement are examples of how DWI blood tubes can be contaminated and their evidentiary value being diminished.
One factor that can severely impact the validity of laboratory results involves the maintenance of the equipment used in the process of running the tests. Calibration is required on scientific equipment frequently, or the numbers they produce can be incorrect. When dealing with small amounts, any kind of variance can be disastrous. This type of error is commonplace.
Mix-ups happen, and they can happen in a laboratory environment just as they can anywhere else. By not following correct procedures, errors in the processing of DUI blood samples can lead to errors in the evidence against a DWI suspect. An experienced DWI attorney will be diligent in the pursuit of determining if proper handling and procedures were followed.
Without proper documentation, any scientific testing can be discounted. The testing of the evidence must be verified, and documentation is an integral part of the scientific method. Improper documentation can be another source of error that can be utilized in the defense of a DWI case.
These errors are just a few of the examples of occurrences that can happen in the processing of a DWI blood sample. An experienced DWI lawyer or DUI attorney will know to ask the questions to best serve you in the defense of your DWI or DUI case.
Posted in DUI, DWI, Science | blood sample, blood test, driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, DUI, DWI | Leave a comment
The Implied Consent Law is based on the theory that your ability to drive is a privilege, not a right. As such, when you are issued your driver’s license, the state is able to make various stipulations. One of these stipulations plays heavily into the DWI and DUI laws: by accepting the issue of your driver’s license, you consent to allow the police to collect a sample of your breath, blood, or urine should you be stopped and arrested for a DWI or DUI based on probable cause. In other words, by having a driver’s license, you agree to give the police whatever they need to prove your sobriety if you’re pulled over.
The law also stipulates that you can withdraw this consent at the time the officer makes their request. This does not mean that the sample cannot be collected, as the officer can get a warrant from a judge. In worse cases, the officer can detain you physically to take the sample should you refuse. Thankfully, not many states allow for the collection of a sample from a DWI or DUI suspect, but in Arizona and parts of Missouri, this is legal.
If you are being arrested of a DWI or DUI, be aware that there are other consequences for refusing a Breathalyzer, a blood test, or a urine sample. Every state mandates that penalties for refusing a test will be more severe compared to the penalties had you complied with the test. The refusal itself can be used against you in court as evidence of your guilt. There are courses of action to challenge these actions against you, but they are separate from the DWI or DUI criminal charges against you and are independent of the results of the DUI or DWI case.
The question remains: should you refuse to provide a sample if you are arrested for DUI or DWI? DWI and DUI Attorneys are asked this question every day, but the answer is not a simple yes or no. Many factors have to be considered and the correct answer depends on the state in which the offense occurred. The best rule of thumb is to not voluntarily give the state any evidence against yourself if you are under the investigation of any crime. It is your choice whether to refuse these tests, and taking them can limit the types of defenses available to you by your DUI or DWI attorney. However, refusing to take the test can extend the period of time you could potentially lose your driver’s license.
Whatever the case, your DWI attorney should understand the laws of your state and be prepared to use the best defense possible to defend you against your DWI or DUI charges.
Posted in DUI, DWI, Law | attorney, Breathalyzer, driver's license, DUI, DWI, evidence, implied consent law, probable cause | Leave a comment
The reliability of devices that test the Blood Alcohol Content of DWI and DUI suspects by analyzing their breath has been advocated for at least thirty years. It may come as a surprise to know that these breath tests can yield inaccurate results?
Breathalyzers have no way to measure the blood of a DWI or DUI suspect; they work by measuring the breath. DWI and DUI laws require that the State provide evidence of the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) levels at the time the suspect was driving their vehicle. Since this is an impossibility to measure, as the driving occurs when the officer has yet to pull over the vehicle, the Breathalyzer utilizes a conversion function to deduce what the device measures in your breath to a BAC reading. It utilizes a partition ratio to accomplish this.
A partition ratio is a calculation that is based on Henry’s Law, a scientific principle that states “at a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas that dissolves into a given type and volume of liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with that liquid.” In layman’s terms, when liquids and gases are combined in a closed environment, they will reach a balance. This balance, or rather, the rate at which is occurs, is different depending on the gases, liquids, or temperatures.
To further understand how a partition ratio works, conceptualize a can of soda. When soda is canned, they use a gas (Carbon Dioxide) to provide the fizz, or carbonation. Once you open a can of soda, the gas begins to escape, and after a while, that soda goes flat, or loses it’s fizz. This is due to the fact that Carbon Dioxide is lighter than Oxygen, and when the two gases reach a state of equilibrium, the lighter gas is pushed out from the can.
Almost all breathalyzers use a 2,100 to 1 partition ratio, which means that for 2,100 milliliters of breath, there is 1 milliliter of blood contained in the lungs. This calculation means to assume that all people have the same lung capacity of 2,100 milliliters. While there might be plenty of people for which this is true, it stands to reason that there are many more for which this does not hold true. Studies have shown that the partition ratio for adults can range from 1,600 to 3,200. If a Breathalyzer were to test someone with a partition ratio of 1,600 using the calculation that assumes the capacity to be 2,100, the result would be 31% higher than the genuine Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). This DWI or DUI suspect would have misleading evidence working against them based on faulty scientific assumptions.
Make sure that the DUI and DWI defense attorney you choose understands partition ratio defenses and how and when to use them when defending your DWI or DUI case.
Posted in DUI, DWI, Science | alcohol, attorney, BAC, blood alcohol content, Breathalyzer, DUI, DWI, lung, partition ratio | Leave a comment
Breathalyzer devices work by measuring alveolar, or deep lung, air samples. They are meant to calculate the blood alcohol content by using samples captured from the alveolar plateau. While best practices would have the device work without fail, should a DWI/DUI suspect breathe irregularly before or during the breath sample, the resulting BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) calculation can be flawed by as much as a 50% deviation.
Alveoli are small sacs of air in the lungs, which contain over 300 million alveoli. Surrounded by blood vessels, the alveoli are separated by a thin membrane that allows an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the blood. It is through this membrane that alcohol is passed to the air from the blood, which is the area of the lungs that are targeted by breathalyzers for the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) calculations. The machines work under the assumption that the alcohol concentration in the alveolar air tested from the DWI/DUI suspect is constant, being the same from the beginning of the test to completion. However, it seems that the contrary can be true, as scientific evidence can prove.
It has been learned that there exists a curve of alcohol concentration when a breath sample is provided for testing. Using a mass spectrometer and an infrared absorption analyzer, scientists have found that in the process of submitting a breath sample, there exists three phases. If taken at the beginning, a much lower BAC is detected, while at the end, a much higher BAC level is detected. The plateau section provides the best representation of the Blood Alcohol Content and is the desired measurement for the test.
When exhaling, air that is contained in the upper lung cavity leaves the body first, and is cooler than the air contained in the deeper lung cavity. Alcohol in the upper lung cavity will leave residual deposits along the surface of the airway, producing a lower BAC test result as amount of alcohol entering the Breathalyzer is reduced.
As the subject’s exhalation continues, the air contained in the deep lung cavity is expelled, which consists of much warmer air. This air causes the residual deposits left by the upper lung air to evaporate, providing a much higher reading for Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), much more than is actually present.
Though the entire process may yield a skewed result in the BAC measurement process, it all depends on when the measurement is made. Breathalyzer machines can be calibrated to measure the breath sample at a certain point but override features do exist that allow the machine operators to measure the sample at varying points in the sample collection process.
Other breathing pattern irregularities can affect a Blood Alcohol Content measurement. For example, hyperventilation for 20 seconds prior to a test will yield results that are about 11% lower than the actual BAC level of the subject. Holding one’s breath for 30 seconds prior to the test will elevate the BAC level by about 16%.
With the amount of credibility placed on the Breathalyzer’s results by the judge and jury, having a DWI defense attorney that knows the facts about the science behind these devices is an imperative.
Posted in DUI, DWI, Science | alveoli, aveolar plateau, BAC, blood alcohol content, Breathalyzer, calibrated, cavity, defense attorney, DUI, DWI, lung | Leave a comment
Are you aware that alcohol is processed through the female body in a different way compared to a man’s body? It is indeed a fact, and if you’re a woman that has been charged with a DWI or DUI you have to make certain to employ a lawyer who knows the variations and may explain these variations to the jury. In the past, males have typically been arrested more for DWI’s and DUI’s than women. While that is still the situation today, this trend is altering quickly. Increasingly more women are now being charged with Drunk driving than in the past, and national statistics appear to show that ladies are rapidly gaining ground within this formerly male-centered arrest category.
Because this trend is becoming more identifiable, skilled DWI and DUI defense lawyers countrywide have started exploring if the science behind the tests and technology used to identify and screen DWI and DUI suspects is fair towards women. What they’re finding is definitely a natural bias against women in DWI and DUI cases. This prejudice, however, isn’t strictly within the tests used to identify DWI and DUI suspects. It is also biased as the chemical and biological of women can make them achieve a greater peak Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level more quickly and could keep them at this elevated level for a greater period of time than males.
You will find many factors that affect why people who drink the equivalent amount of alcohol will achieve different BAC levels and can remain at their peak BAC level longer. Among the greatest factors may be the gender of these consumers. In most cases, a female the exact same size as a male who drinks the identical type of libation and in the same amounts will result in achieving a higher BAC. You will find several factors at play here, but the following factors are most prevalent:
- Women are usually more affected by alcohol just before their monthly cycle than at any other time. Greater estrogen levels often slow the absorption rate of alcohol in the blood stream, which has a tendency to result in greater peak BAC levels because the women can continue consuming alcohol for extended cycles.
- Women taking contraception pills which contain estrogen might not become intoxicated as rapidly as women who don’t take such pills; such pills have a tendency to delay the absorption of alcohol into the blood stream.
- The average woman will generally have a greater percentage of body fat than males. As such, less alcohol can be diluted within the muscular tissue; as such, more alcohol stays within their bloodstream, resulting in women having a greater peak BAC than males.
- Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH), an enzyme that can help metabolizes alcohol, is found in lower levels in females.
If you’re a woman, you should know these factors while consuming alcohol. The law does not make exceptions for why a certain BAC has been reached, just that it has been reached. However, if you were charged with a DWI or DUI, you have to hire a DWI lawyer who knows women’s issues in DWI and DUI cases.
Posted in DUI, DWI | ADH, alcohol, Alcohol Dehydrogenase, attorney, BAC, blood alcohol content, DUI, DWI, enzyme, lawyer, metabolizes | Leave a comment
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