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Washington State is slowly moving forward with plans to deploy new DUI breath testing machines.  The state has already purchased a number of machines, the Draeger 9510, and is in the process of testing them before deploying them to be used in actual DUI arrests.  The state is buying new breath test machines because the [...]

Recent happenings (March, 2010) reveal some unusual defenses to DUI charges. First, there was the decision of the Court of Appeals in State of Washington vs. Richard Charles Tracer, No. 37812-4-II. This was a Washington State DUI/Vehicular Assault case where the Court of Appeals discussed the propriety of the legal procedure employed by the trial [...]

Washington State DUI laws are among the strictest in the nation. Like most states, the legal limit is .08% but the reading is produced by testing breath alcohol, not blood alcohol. Breath alcohol does not impair a driver; it is only alcohol in the blood that impairs a driver. Thus, a blood test would be [...]

Businesswire.com recently reported that a company is developing technology that detects a person’s alcohol level by measuring having the subject place a finger on a device known as the TruTouch 2000.  The device was announced as being aimed at industry and at law enforcement such as Washington state DUI squads for use in DUI trials. There, accurate measurement [...]

Now that the holidays are upon us, all of the local police agencies will be conducting holiday DUI emphasis patrols. This means an increased presence of law enforcement on the freeways, highways, county roads and city streets whose sole mission is to detect and arrest drivers who are under the influence of alcohol. As always, [...]

When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor DUI and taken to the police station the police will usually ask: “Will you take the breath test?” The answer to this question can greatly influence the complications that will arise from the DUI arrest, including length of license suspension and also the mandatory minimum DUI criminal [...]

This holiday season, the DUI emphasis patrols will be out in King County and throughout Washington State, patrolling in an increased effort to make DUI arrests. Undoubtedly, DUI arrests will occur. In some of those cases, the driver will be arrested and charged with DUI despite making a good faith …

Although there has not yet been a formal announcement, expect to see DUI holiday patrols this year from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.  This time of year, state troopers and other police agencies work in unison to increase their presence for DUI emphasis patrols.  In the past we have seen, for instance, a coordinated DUI enforcement [...]

As discussed in a previous blog, in 2009 the Washington State Patrol instituted a pilot “Ignition Interlock Compliance Program.” As part of that program, Washington State Patrol troopers are knocking on the doors of drivers who, after a Washington State DUI arrest or conviction, are required to have an ignition interlock device installed …

After a Seattle DUI arrest or an arrest for DUI anywhere in Washington state, the citizen who has been arrested for DUI will be asked to take a breath test.  As of the date of this blog, the DataMaster breath testing machine (in two variations) is the only device approved for DUI evidential use.  It [...]