RAMSAY TESTIFIES IN TRIAL ABOUT INTOXILYZER'S DESIGN FAILURES On Friday, November 17, 2006, Charles Ramsay testified in court as a witness regarding the operation of the Intoxilyzer 5000EN (the Minnesota model). Ramsay, a criminal defense lawyer who devotes a large portion of his practice on DWI defense, testified in a Carver County case. Ramsay testified that the breath test machine was reading high. The reported value of .080 should have read .079 or lower. Ramsay had reviewed the Intoxilyzer maintenance and calibration logs and discovered that the machine’s simulator solution which has been calibrated at .079 was reported by the machine as .080. The driver’s result should have been reduced accordingly. Ramsay testified that since the simulator solution’s temperature was reported at the correct amount, the most likely cause of the erroneously high reading was "selenid drift," a common occurrence found in infrared devices. The machine in this case had not been calibrated in nearly two years. Ramsay and other breath test experts believe the machine should be calibrated at least annually. Minnesota has no regular maintenance schedule for the Intoxilyzer 5000. Ramsay is believed to be the first defense attorney to testify regarding the Intoxilyzer 5000. He is a certified breath test operator and has completed the Borkenstein Course on Alcohol and Highway Safety: Testing, Research and Litigation at the University of Indiana. He has nearly the same credentials as the experts who testify from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state crime lab. Although Ramsay enjoyed testifying, he has no plans to change professions. "I like the change of pace, but I have no intention to become a full time expert in the field. I get great satisfaction from my work." If you are in need of a criminal defense lawyer who is recognized as an authority in the principles and operation of the Intoxilyzer 5000, contact attorney Chuck Ramsay. |
