In issuing an opinion that could affect thousands of DUI cases, the New Jersey Supreme Court today agreed with many legal arguments the New Jersey State Bar Association made as an amicus party to the case.
The Court supported the findings of a special master in State v. Cassidy, which examined validity of breath test results from the Alcotest machine when it was not calibrated to produce measurements that comport to standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
“We hold the State failed to carry its burden and affirm the Special Master’s conclusion. Contrary to the State’s contentions that the Special Master held it to a standard of infallibility, we find he did not,” wrote Justice Walter Timpone in a unanimous ruling.
“Simply put, temperature measurements that are NIST-traceable are generally accepted as reliable by the scientific community. Part of that reliability lies in the fact that the level of uncertainty of each temperature measurement is known. Because the probes fail to meet the NIST’s standards for traceability and the measure of uncertainty in their temperature readings is unknown, the scientific reliability of the probes’ temperature measurements are left in doubt. We do not accept the State’s contention that the risk of miscalibration is infinitesimal due to the numerous other fail-safes in the calibration procedure. It is improbable such a showing could satisfy the general acceptance standard because the temperature probes used in the calibration process would still have an unknown level of measurement uncertainty and would not be traceable to the national standards,” the opinion found.
The opinion also said that the state is obligated to notify anyone whose case may be affected, including those that have already been resolved.
The New Jersey State Bar Association has been following the issues of the Alcotest going back nearly two decades to when the test started being used in New Jersey. Most recently, the association participated the special master’s hearings and submitted several briefs related to issues under consideration.
NJSBA President John E. Keefe Jr. said the decision is an important one.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision regarding DUI cases and the use of Alcotest provides meaningful and significant guidance for attorneys who handle these cases. It also solidifies the protections the Court put into place in Chun to ensure that evidence from readings from a machine, which cannot be cross examined, is reliable because it is such a crucial piece of information used in the prosecutions of anyone facing DUI charges. The Court’s opinion should bolster public confidence in the judicial system.”
READ MORE: