Unreliable Police Intoximeters Could Overturn Convictions

Wednesday, 4. March 2009

Specialist law firm, Driving Defences LLP have said that thousands of convictions of failing to provide a specimen could be overturned due to questions over the reliability of the police intoximeter machine. They brought a successful case in which it was proven that due to an error made by the police, a defendant could not possibly have provided a sample of breath. Martin Hammond, a solicitor at the practice, said ‘This discovery means that not only will people who have been convicted have the right to apply for an appeal, but people taken to police stations with this equipment could face future prosecutions until this problem is corrected.’ By Graham Hill