Serious question to all prosecutors:

Do you see your office still using breath testing to prosecute DWI related cases in say....10 years? If so, is it because you are happy with your trial outcome or because you don't see an alternative that is readily available?

If you could move to blood for all your cases would you?

Lets "assume" cost of blood analysis is not an issue, nor turnaround time from the lab. After all, this is pretend.....

thanks.

As long as we are pretending, can I also have confessions in every case?

While there are many qualifiers in your hypothetical which we currently have to think about (cost, turnaround time, etc.) MY answer to your question is YES - I would prefer to have blood.

Not telling you anything you don't already know, but there are so many issues with breath testing that the general public thinks are true (a penny in your mouth will cause a lower reading, Dr. Pepper can cause a higher reading, "Altoids" can cause a higher reading, etc..) that just don't seem to be an issue with blood testing. Jurors trust their doctors to draw their blood, test the blood, and tell them what's wrong with them; few questions asked.

Not sure if breath testing will be around in 10 years. Depends a lot on what happens to SB 126 (and other "pro-blood" bills in front of the leg this year and in future years).

DISCLAIMER - As with all posts, the above opinion is my opinion alone, and does not constitute an official position or opinion of the County of Denton, or the Denton County DA's Office....

Brent