Evening star., 1951-09-22
8 STATE ED,I1u4.,.
DfUnk0ii'1lefef
Fails First Test,
Passes Second
But Two Are Found
Guilty in Arlington
Of Tipsy Driving

Evidence gained through use of
a mechanical drunk test was
thrown out of court in one case
and admitted in a second case yes
terday in Arlington.
In the first case, the confusion
of the policeman who applied the
drunkometer test to Clayton
Whisenant, 30-year-old barber, re-
suited in the Court barring his
testimony. But Whisenant, who
lives in the 2700 block of South
Meade street, Arlington, was con-
victed of driving while drunk and
fined 500. A 30-day jail term was
suspended.
In the second case, Army Sergt.
Byron Rothenhoefer, AZ, Of the
900 block South Lee street, Alex
andria, was convicted of the samA
charge, after drunkometer evid-
ence was submitted by the same
policeman. Rothenhoefer was
handed the same sentence by
Judge Hugh Reid.
Judge Rebukes Officer.
The confusion of Police Pvt.
Walter Cauffman over the amount
of alcohol the drunkometer meas
ured in Whisenant's bloodstream
caused Judge Reid to issue a sharp
Icebuke. He said the policeman had
taken the test so carelessly that
lit is of no value"
Pvt. Cauffman's confusion fol-
lowed close questioning by Judge
Reid concerning the policeman's s
knowledge of the chemical test
He explained that the test is
made with breath, contained in
an ordinary balloon, which is
passed through a mixture of sui
Iphuric acid and potassium per-
manganate. If alcohol is present,
the chemical will change color.
The amount Of the alcohol
present is determined by the
amount of water displaced by the
breath after it has caused the
color change and enters a water
cylinder. The entire mechanical
unit is contained in a box about
the size of a portable typewriter.
Toxicologist Testifies.
A prosecution witness, DR.. Sid
Iney Kaye, toxicologist for the
State of Virginia, said the pres
ence of alcohol in the breath is
directly related to the amount of
Ialcohol in the bloodstream. He
said the blood gives off the alco-
Ihol in the lungs and it is expelled
by breathing.
Whisenant was arrested by Pvt.
Harry Totten on September / at
1l:30 pm. near the Dolly Madison
School on South Twenty-third
street. He admitted he had drunk
about four bottles of beer in the
-four hours prior to his arrest.
His attorney, Chester M. Brasse
had sought unsuccessfully to have
the drunkometer evidence barred
before Judge Reid decided the test
was made carelessly.
Pvt. Cauffman testified that
Rothenhoefer's r test revealed OF of
/ per cent blood alcohol. DR.. Kaye
later testified that, according to
generally accepted standards, such
a reading would indicate a person
to be under the influence of an
intoxicant and not fit to operate
a motor vehicle"
"No Doubt of Intoxication."
He said there is no doubt of in
toxication in anybody whose
breath contains blood alcohol con-
tent of is of l per cent by drunk
lometer measurement.
Rothenhoefer's attorney, Earl F.
Wagner, attempted to have the
drunkometer evidence ruled out
because it is "in its infancy as
far as scientific trustworthiness is
concerned"
! However. DR.. Kaye. under ques-
tioning by Prosecuting Attorney
Paul G. Varoutsos, said the drunk
ometer has been in use for 20
years and has had wide accept
ance among the legal and med
ical professions for the past 10
years.
'Rothenhoefer was arrested at
pm. September 10 by Pvts. Jo-
seph Kane and Floyd L. Huber
who testified they saw the defend
ant driving on the wrong side OF
the street in the 2700 block o1
Wilson boulevard.