Alleged drunk drivers win a round in court

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that when an OUI suspect is given breath tests and police get back two different readings, police have to use the lower number.

The court was actually upholding regulations set by the Department of Public Safety for how to conduct breathalyzer tests.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's office protested those regulations, in a case involving a driver who blew a 0.9 and then a .10 on a breath test - even though both are higher than the 0.8 standard for being convicted of drunk driving.

The DA's argument: The legislature set specific directions for how to conduct breath tests, but did not specify that the lower number had to be used. The court, however, said the legislature also gave the Secretary of Public Safety the right to fine-tune those directions and that setting the lower number eliminates potential court arguments over the accuracy of the testing (the defendant actually took a third test - used to ensure the machine was calibrated properly).

Read the complete decision.