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Friday, March 8, 2013
By Michael Nichols
Categories: Drunk-Driving, OWI
The manufacturer of the datamaster breath test instrument has been sold to St. Louis-based Intoximeters, Inc. The director of The Alcohol Enforcement Unit for the Michigan State Police tells Okemos DUI attorney Mike Nichols that nothing will change, but only for the time being. "I talked with National Patent yesterday (Thursday)" says Sgt. Perry Curtis. Curtis adds "the company will continue to make and service breath test instruments despite the sale of the company. However, we only know that until the fall. Then we will assess if we can renew our contract for servicing the instruments."
Mike Nichols interviewed Curtis while Nichols was at the Ohio Criminal Defense Lawyers advanced DUI seminar to present on marihuana testing.
Defense attorneys throughout Michigan and the country are left wondering about the state of breath testing devices after (NPAS) sold the rights to the two breath test machines used by law enforcement in Michigan to Intoximeters, Inc. The research and development will be joint between the two companies, but it appears that NPAS will continue to manufacture the machines for now.
NPAS was known for having the greatest level of openness to their manufacturing, including holding up to two training sessions per year just for defense attorneys to learn the science behind the machines and answering defense attorneys questions.
John Fusco, the owner of NPAS told Nichols that Michigan is a "carve out" state and that the agreement "has to work for Michigan."
Intoximeters, Inc., is notorious for being unreliable in the science and questionable about turning over the source code for their machines. "Lawyers here at the Ohio seminar from Intoximeter states are telling me that their approach is to give you the breath test ticket and telling you "trust us" without backing it up" Nichols says.
If you need an attorney who is willing to challenge the machine and its creators, call the Nichols Law Firm at (517) 432-9000. You can also email Mike Nichols at mnichols@nicholslaw.net.