Opinion ID: 1417964
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: People v. Garcia

Text: An officer of the Grand Junction police department observed Andrew Joe Garcia operating a motor vehicle at an excessive speed. Garcia was stopped and given a roadside sobriety test. He was thereafter arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and was advised of his rights under Colorado's Implied Consent Law, section 42-4-1202(3), C.R.S.1973 (1976 Supp.). He elected to take the breath test. The breathalyzer reflected a blood alcohol content of .18%, and as a result, Garcia was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The breathalyzer machine which was used in the Garcia case was manufactured by the Smith and Wesson Company. The manner in which the machine was used and the method for determining blood alcohol content of breath is described in this manner: The breathalyzer is a machine designed to measure the amount of alcohol in the alveolar breath and is based upon the principle that the ratio between the amount of alcohol in the blood and the amount in the alveolar breath from the lungs is a constant 2100 to 1. In other words, the machine analyzes a sample of breath to determine the alcoholic content of the blood. . . . To operate the machine, the subject blows into the machine through a mouthpiece until he has emptied his lungs in one breath. The machine is so designed that it traps only the last 52 ½ cubic centimeters of air that has been blown into it. This air is then forced, by weight of a piston, through a test ampoule containing a solution of sulphuric acid and potassium dichromate. This test solution has a yellow hue to it. As the breath sample bubbles through the test solution, the sulphuric acid extracts the alcohol, if any, therefrom, and the potassium dichromate then changes the alcohol to acetic acid, thereby causing the solution to lose some of its original yellow color. The greater the alcoholic content of the breath sample, the greater will be the loss in color of the test solution. By causing a light to pass through the test ampoule and through a standard [reference] ampoule containing the same chemical solution as the test ampoule (but through which no breath sample has passed), the amount of the change in color can be measured by photoelectric cells which are connected to a galvanometer. By balancing the galvanometer, a reading can be obtained from a gauge which has been calibrated in terms of percentage of alcohol in the blood. State v. Baker, 56 Wash.2d 846, 355 P.2d 806, 809 (1960). When arraigned, Garcia requested that the test and reference ampoules used in his breathalyzer test be produced. He was informed that in accordance with the standard police department procedure, both ampoules had been destroyed. Garcia then moved to suppress the results of the breathalyzer test as evidence. His motion was predicated on the contention that had the test and reference ampoules, or a separate sample of his breath, been preserved, he would have been able to submit those items for an independent test of his blood alcohol level. He contended that the test could have been conducted by experts of his own choosing and would have been available to impeach or verify the result indicated by the breathalyzer. A stipulation appears in the record to establish that the breathalyzer machine which was used to test Garcia's breath was certified by the Colorado State Board of Health, was in proper working order, and was operated by a qualified person. Expert testimony was produced in the trial court to establish the manner in which the breathalyzer machine was operated and the feasibility of maintaining the test and reference ampoules and a separate breath sample. There was conflicting testimony, but it was conceded that a sample of Garcia's breath could have been preserved at a minor expense by a number of methods. Experts called by the defense testified that the preservation of the test and reference ampoules would have enabled them to determine whether the proper amount of solution was in each vial and whether the proper amount of potassium dichromate was present in the solution, as well as whether the glass ampoules were of the correct diameter and free of imperfections. The defense expert testified that the standard solution (potassium dichromate), the glass ampoule's diameter, and the other factors which were outlined could have affected the accuracy of the test. It was also the opinion of the defense experts that the preservation of a breath sample would have enabled an independent laboratory test. The trial court concluded that the test and reference ampoules could not easily be preserved and that, thus, the state was under no obligation to preserve the test and reference ampoules for Garcia, [1] but it did not make any findings regarding the feasibility of preserving a separate sample of Garcia's breath for use by the defense.