GREENFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - Thousands of Massachusetts residents who have been convicted of drunken driving in recent years may be entitled to seek a new trial based on unreliable breathalyzer results, officials announced Monday.
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office says it will be mailing letters to approximately 3,100 people who were convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol between 2011 and 2018.
Breath test results in criminal cases between that time frame were deemed inadmissible as the result of litigation after several criminal defendants challenged the reliability of the test results in the Boston municipal and district court departments.
Judge Robert Brennan determined that the annual calibration of the “Alcotest 9510” machine and certification methodology employed by the Office of Alcohol Testing between June 2011 and September 2014 was deficient, resulting in scientifically unreliable BAC results, according to the district attorney’s office.
Brennan further ruled that breathalyzer results would not be allowed back into evidence until OAT implemented reliable methods for calibrating and certifying the machines, which happened in 2019.
Based on the results of the breathalyzer litigation, all criminal defendants who took the breathalyzer between 2011 and 2018 and were subsequently convicted of OUI-alcohol will receive letters notifying them of their right to challenge their convictions. This includes defendants who went to trial and were found guilty, defendants who resolved their cases through guilty pleas, and defendants whose cases were “continued without a finding” and eventually dismissed after successfully completing a short period of probation.
If an eligible defendant chooses to challenge their conviction, they may be entitled to a new trial, at which the Commonwealth would have to prove their guilt without relying upon the breathalyzer result.
There are an estimated 27,000 people statewide who may be eligible to challenge their convictions and will be receiving letters in the coming weeks.
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