In Washington State DUI cases prosecutors routinely prove intoxication through scientific testing. The BAC Datamaster and BAC Datamaster CDM are the breath testing machines authorized to be used in the State of Washington. These machines detect blood alcohol concentration (“BAC”) within the human body. In the State of Washington, a BAC result of .08 or greater is considered to be legally intoxicated. This is because test limits above the legal limit are presumed to be proof of legal intoxication. Unfortunately, even if there is no breath test in a Washington DUI case (because either: (1) the test result is not admissible at trial, or (2) a person chooses to refuse to take the test) the prosecuting attorney can potentially still prove intoxication under the concept of the “totality of the circumstances.” This is done by law enforcement gathering evidence of intoxication, to include conducting standard field sobriety tests (FSTs) such as: Finger-to-nose test, Walk-and-turn test, One-legged stand and/or the Horizontal-gaze-nystagmus test. An effective Seattle DUI Attorney can challenge these FST’s and the breath test and get them suppressed, making it even more difficult for a prosecutor to be able to prove their DUI case in Washington.
