Ohio judge OKs challenges to portable breath tests

COLUMBUS (AP) — A judge in southeast Ohio is the second in the state to issue a decision casting doubt on a portable breath tester used on suspected drunken drivers.

Judge William Grim of Athens County Municipal Court ruled this week that in some cases it’s allowable for defense attorneys to present expert testimony challenging results from the Intoxilyzer 8000. The judge wrote that the machine may be vulnerable to interference from smart phones and that blowing into the device longer may skew the reading.

Earlier, a central Ohio judge ruled his court wouldn’t accept evidence from the devices.

The Ohio Department of Health purchased 500 Intoxilyzer 8000s two years ago and has been rolling them out gradually. Department spokesman Robert Jennings said today that they’re working as expected.