[Washington]In researching my defense for an inappropriate DUI I've found extremely troubling things about the Draeger 9510 units recently deployed in Washington. Could this get my case thrown out, and could it lead to a much larger action statewide?

IANAL

The amount of effort to argue against the device's reliability may not be worth the gains it produces for your case. Like another poster said, even if in the unlikely scenario where you got it thrown out entirely, the case could still be based on the officer's testimony.

It's probably worth presenting as evidence at trial that the device is untested in real world applications by offering its track record in your jurisdiction as evidence. But even that presents some pitfalls, like objections.

You will have to show that your particular device somehow suffered from what you established, or is likely to have suffered, to make it relevant. (It sounds like you want to attack the character of the device. You can only attack the character of people, not devices. Also you'll have to build foundation, but that's something your lawyer will deal with...)

Even if you survive objections, the rebuttal would be that it's a sound device despite its untested history. And devices that are now relied upon at one time were also unproven, so such a fact is not conclusive proof of a tendency for error.

So let's say you win the argument and establish the shortcomings of the device in general, and that the device used on you suffered from one of those shortcomings. Then you could offer evidence in the form of testimony from people who support your case, people who were with you that night and could say exactly how much you drank, and when.

Then you could show that it's impossible for you to have such a BAC reading based on the testimony of how much you had to drink, therefore the device is wrong to some degree.

But that's really risky because some jurors may not care how much you drank, just the fact that you took the risk to drive at all after imbibing could put the nail in your coffin. It's worth noting that if you argue the minutiae of the reading of the particular device used on you that night, you will have to admit drinking. Not a good move.

What you want to do is get a good lawyer who knows how to work every angle and get your case thrown out or plead down.

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