High Court Tosses Breathalyzer Hurdle
By Barry Massey
The Associated Press
SANTA FE The state's highest court has removed a potential hurdle for prosecutors in using breath-alcohol test results as evidence in drunken-driving cases.
The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that an arresting officer can help establish an evidentiary foundation for the test results by testifying that a machine's certification was current at the time the test was taken.
The court's unanimous decision overturned a ruling made last year by the state Court of Appeals, which had created turmoil for prosecutors in trying to get breath-alcohol test results admitted as evidence in trials.
Rachel O'Connor, the state's DWI czar, said Monday that the Supreme Court's ruling will make drunken-driving prosecutions easier.
Breath-alcohol test equipment is certified annually by the state Health Department's Scientific Laboratory Division, and a certification sticker is affixed to the machine.
In a trial, a judge decides whether evidence is admitted based on whether there's a proper legal foundation for it. When prosecutors try to show that breath-alcohol tests are reliable enough to be used as evidence, the Supreme Court ruled, it's sufficient for law enforcement officers to testify that they saw a certification sticker attached to a testing machine and that the sticker showed the certification was current.
The breath-alcohol test analyzers often referred to as "breathalyzers" are a key tool for police in making arrests for drunken driving. In New Mexico, a driver is legally presumed to be intoxicated if a test result exceeds the state's 0.08 percent alcohol limit.
Last year's ruling by the Court of Appeals bolstered efforts by defense lawyers to challenge the accuracy and reliability of breath-alcohol testing equipment.
The Court of Appeals said it wasn't enough for arresting officers who aren't experts in how a machine works to say the testing device was currently certified and calibrated to work properly.
New Mexico has among the nation's highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths, and a host of laws have been enacted in recent years to try to reduce drunken driving. Last year, 191 people died in traffic crashes involving alcohol, according to the state Traffic Safety Bureau. That's down from 194 in 2005 and 219 deaths in 2004.
Although the Supreme Court's ruling will help prosecutors, the justices pointed out that a defendant can still "challenge the reliability of the breath test" after a trial court determines there is a foundation for admitting the test results as evidence.
The court's ruling came in an Albuquerque case in which David S. Martinez was arrested for drunken driving after a one-car accident in November 2004. Martinez was later convicted of drunken driving and reckless driving, but his convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court, which reinstated the convictions by reversing the Court of Appeals, sent the case back to the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
