DUI and Breath Test Results in Utah

May 20, 2012
Arnold Wadsworth Coggins

In a Utah, DUI criminal case the breath test is usually how the police officer or prosecution will attempt to prove that you are driving drunk. The portable breath test and the breathalyzer used to determine your blood alcohol content has flaws and does not always provide perfect results. If you have been charged with a DUI in Utah you have to be careful that the breath tests are not relied on by a jury without you being able to provide alternative information about the flaws of the testing and the machine. In Utah, the statutory requirements for the admissibility of breath test results reads as follows;

(2) In any action or proceeding in which it is material to prove that a person was operating or in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any drug or operating with a blood or breath alcohol content statutorily prohibited, documents offered as memoranda or records of acts, conditions, or events to prove that the analysis was made and the instrument used was accurate, according to standards established in Subsection (1), are admissible if:
(a) the judge finds that they were made in the regular course of the investigation at or about the time of the act, condition, or event; and
(b) the source of information from which made and the method and circumstances of their preparation indicate their trustworthiness.
(3) If the judge finds that the standards established under Subsection (1) and the conditions of Subsection (2) have been met, there is a presumption that the test results are valid and further foundation for introduction of the evidence is unnecessary.

Utah Code Annotated 41-6a-515 (2-3)

If you have been charged with a DUI in Utah let the DUI lawyers at Arnold, Wadsworth & Coggins help you with your criminal defense. We will be aggressive and help you defend yourself in the justice system.