DUI cases on hold in Grant County
Argument to suppress breath test evidence set for end of April
EPHRATA - An estimated 100 DUI cases in Grant County are on hold pending the outcome of a court argument asking breath test evidence be suppressed.
Breath test evidence for 11 people was thrown out Wednesday in Douglas County after Wenatchee attorneys Steve Woods and John Brangwin asked the breath test results be excluded.
"Systemic misconduct and incompetence" at the state toxicology lab prompted their request, Brangwin stated.
The lab's head, Barry Logan, resigned Feb. 14. His resignation came after a senior manager signed off on toxicology tests she didn't perform herself, according to a state patrol press release.
Other errors were later found that may have "materially affected breathalyzer results in about 130 DUI cases," the patrol stated.
While reviewing documents for the Douglas County argument, it was discovered the simulator solutions used to calibrate breath test machines were not tested properly, said Brangwin.
The machines must be calibrated once a year as part of a quality assurance procedure, Brangwin said.
The state patrol technician correctly performed his job. The solution he used to confirm the machine was working, but the machine wasn't tested correctly, Brangwin said.
"My speculation is that this revelation will cause Grant County to suppress the breath tests," he said.
The technician also certifies machines in other counties in the region, including Grant County, Brangwin said.
The Douglas County cases can go to trial if the defendants can be proven guilty without breath test results, Brangwin said.
Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Angus Lee said some people fighting DUIs in Grant County are pleading guilty because there's "so much overwhelming evidence" without the test.
Lee said he's agreed to suppress a few tests in cases where peoples' results have been double the legal limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol.
The laws states one is guilty of DUI if you're test is more than .08 within two hours of driving, he said.
"The real question is, what is your result when you were pulled over?" he asked. "I think people are getting a little carried away with this."
Lee cited an example of a completed case in which a 140-pound woman said she drank 10 vodka cranberry cocktails before driving. She pleaded guilty, but she asked for another trial after she was sentenced and served her jail time because of the news about the breath tests, he said.
The issue is if the tests are accurate, Lee said.
He also cited an ad published in the Washington State Bar Association journal placed by the Seattle law firm arguing the case in Grant County.
He claims the ad acknowledges the tests are correct with the following sentence referring to former state toxicology lab manager Ann Marie Gordon: "But doing so merely ratifies her alleged misconduct and creates an environment that permits government deception, as long it does not affect the accuracy of the result."
Moses Lake attorney Garth Dano said about 30 DUI cases are being handled by his office.
He said there is possibly hundreds of cases in Grant County where evidence was tainted and people have been found guilty.
"Most of the counties that have looked at this issue now have found that suppression of the breath test is the proper remedy for what the state lab did," he said. "Just because of laziness and sloppiness, potentially innocent people go to jail and lose their licenses."