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27 Syracuse J. Sci. & Tech. L. 124 (2012)
Alcohol Breath Testing: Is There Reasonable Doubt

handle is hein.journals/sjost27 and id is 126 raw text is: SYRACUSE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LAW VOLUME 27 FALL 2012 ARTICLE 4, PAGE 124 Alcohol Breath Testing: Is There Reasonable Doubt? Okorie Okorocha1, M.S*, J.D. and Matthew Strandmark2, B.A., M.A.* Introduction The Alcohol breath test (ABT), commonly known by its commercial name as the Breathalyzer, is a device made popular in the United States and used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world to assess and determine the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of individuals suspected of driving under the influence (DUI).'2,3 With increased popularity of the automobile in the late 19th century, traffic accidents caused by individuals driving while intoxicated became a serious problem.4 While legislation was created making it illegal to operate a vehicle under the influence, no quantitative method existed which could assess the intoxication level of an individual. Instead, subjective field tests were used to assess drunkenness relying on identifying certain behaviors in the suspected individual. Blood tests eventually became available to determine BAC, but since drawing blood roadside from a suspected individual is not a viable option for law enforcement officials, another method was needed which could determine intoxication or BAC indirectly and in a non-invasive manner.8 1 Okorie Okorocha is an expert in Forensic Intoxication Testing and Analysis who is appointed on a regular basis by Courts throughout California. He is also a 9 year licensed attorney, with a Doctorate in Law and will obtain his Master's degree in Forensic Science in December 2012. 2 Matthew Strandmark is a Library Science Graduate student at the University of Indiana who has done extensive research on the role of Robert Borkenstein while at the University of Indiana and provided invaluable information for this paper. He expects to receive his Masters of Arts in Library Science in 2013.