Opinion ID: 3169985
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: John Botson’s Arrest And Breath Test

Text: John Botson was arrested for driving under the influence and submitted to breath testing of his blood alcohol concentration. The Anchorage police officer who administered the test explained to Botson that once the breath test device was prepared it would “go through a bunch of self checks [to] make sure it’s functioning properly.” Following a 15-minute observation period, the officer took Botson’s breath sample and -2- 7077 the breath test device produced a reading of .141,1 significantly higher than the legal limit of .08.2 After informing Botson of the result and reading form notices regarding the revocation of Botson’s driver’s license and seizure of his vehicle, the officer read Botson a notice of his right to an independent chemical test. The officer told Botson: You are under arrest for the offense of driving under the influence. In addition to a chemical test of your breath, you have a right to an independent chemical test of your level of intoxication. . . . You may obtain an independent test one of the following ways. If you wish to have an independent chemical test at municipal expense, we will make arrangements for a sample of your blood to be drawn by qualified personnel at no expense to you. . . . Two, if you wish to have an independent chemical test of your own choosing, you must make your own arrangements for one to be administered within the immediate Anchorage area by a qualified person and you must pay for it yourself. . . . . . . It is possible that evidence from the independent chemical test sample may be obtained by the municipality through legal processes and used against you. I cannot give you any other legal or medical advice. If you have any questions, you should ask your legal and health advisors. At this time you must decide whether or not you want to take an independent chemical test. Botson responded, “No, I guess not.” 1 Botson took two breath tests, but the first produced an invalid sample. After the first test, the officer gave Botson further instruction on how to breathe into the machine and administered the second breath test. 2 See Anchorage Municipal Code (AMC) 09.28.020(B) (2010). -3- 7077 At the time neither Botson nor the officer was aware that the breath test device had produced an error code related to one of its quality assurance measures, the “external standard” test. That test involves a canister of compressed ethanol gas, or “alco bottle,” connected to the device’s testing chamber. Each canister is labeled with a target value that the administering officer enters into the device prior to testing, and the device has a regulator that controls the flow of gas into the chamber.3 The breath test device automatically conducts an external standard test both before and after taking a subject’s breath sample.4 The device first adjusts the target value according to barometric pressure. The device’s regulator then turns on and a known quantity of ethanol gas from the canister is pulled into the chamber.5 The device produces a numerical result based on the amount of alcohol detected, and if that result falls within a given range of the target value, the “external standard” test is satisfied. If the result falls outside of this range, the machine will produce an error message reading “standard out of range.”6 In Botson’s case the target value adjusted for barometric pressure was .079 and the pre-sample external standard test produced a result of .080, well within the acceptable range.7 But the next external standard test, run after Botson’s breath sample 3 ALASKA SCIENTIFIC CRIME DETECTION LAB., BREATH ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAM MANUAL 26-27(2015), available at http://www.dps.alaska.gov/crimelab/docs/DMT/Breath_Alcohol_Program_Testing_ Manual_DMT.pdf 4 Id. 5 Id. 6 Id. at 35, 37. 7 According to the Municipality’s expert witness, the acceptable range at this (continued...) -4- 7077 was taken, resulted in a value of only .018, far below the expected value. The breath test device therefore produced an error message reading “standard out of range.” This error message appeared on the device’s screen as well as a printout that the officer initialed and dated. But according to the officer, the error message nonetheless went unnoticed. The Municipality of Anchorage subsequently charged Botson with driving under the influence, noting that his breath test revealed a blood alcohol level of .141.