New Jersey DUI Alcotest Machine Testing Update
May 25th, 2007 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Criminal & Traffic, DUI-DWI-DAI (Drunk Driving)On May 22, 2007, the NJ Supreme Court issued a Supplemental Order, which ruled that 2 experts shall provide a report to the State. The company who designed the new Alcotest machine, Draeger Safety Diagnostics, will have an expert to accurately test the Alcotest and the named Defendants in the State v. Chun case will have their own expert test the Alcotest machine.
It is also ordered that Draeger must provide the source code to the experts. The source code is the computer programs that actually run the machine. Unlike the old Breathalyzer, the Alcotest is more sophisticated and ran by a computer.
Again, the NJ Supreme Court ruled that each party must pay for their own expert. The reports are to be submitted to the Special Master, who is then to either make another finding or take additional testimony.
The NJ Supreme Court did set time limits in this matter. If the Special Master does proceed with a hearing on the matter, he must complete the hearing within 45 days of his receipt of the expert reports and file his final conclusions with the NJ Supreme Court no later than 14 days from that point.
This leaves the thousands and thousands of NJ DUI Defendants on hold for many more months, possibly into 2008. We will keep you posted on this ever-changing NJ DUI situation.
See the May 22, 2007 NJ DUI Alcotest Supreme Court Supplemental Order here: State v. Chun May 2007 Update.pdf
i belive the order was only for the source code, and not for the machgine, the alcotest itself.
that will come later in the sachs protocol is adopted