Opinion ID: 1342327
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admissibility of the Certificate.

Text: Brooks contends that the breath analysis could be made only by a person possessing a valid license, and that the certificate shows on its face that Brown did not, on April 13, 1981, possess a valid license. Code § 18.2-268(r l ) provides: Chemical analysis of a person's breath, to be considered valid under the provisions of this section, shall be performed by an individual possessing a valid license to conduct such tests, with a type of equipment and in accordance with the methods approved by the Division. Such breath-testing equipment shall be tested for its accuracy by the Division at least once every six months. [Emphasis supplied.] The Division is directed to establish a training program for all individuals who are to administer the breath tests, of at least forty hours of instruction in the operation of the breath-test equipment and the administration of such tests. Upon the successful completion of the training program the Division may issue a license to the individual operator indicating that he has completed the course and is authorized to conduct a breath-test analysis. While the statute does not require the expiration date of the license to be recorded on the certificate of analysis, the form does and thus points up a patent inconsistency with Brown's certification that he possessed a valid license. The City contends that Code § 18.2-268(s) [3] controls and that the defect is procedural, not substantive, and thus does not prohibit the admissibility of this certificate. This is the conclusion reached by the trial court. We disagree. The statute requires the test to be administered by an operator with a valid license, and the self-authenticating certificate indicates that Brown's license was invalid. The qualification of the operator is a matter of substance, not procedure, and is not waived by subsection (s). The lower court, therefore, was in error in admitting the certificate into evidence.