Beginning in 2013, Georgia required all law enforcement agencies to begin replacing their Intoxilyzer 5000 machines with Intoxilyzer 9000 machines. Both machines are currently approved for implied consent breath testing in Georgia, though by the end of 2015, all agencies must have their 5000s replaced and retired. While the Intoxilyzer 9000 is touted is being the latest and greatest technology in breath testing, in reality, it is based largely on the same science and methods as the Intoxilyzer 5000. To note, the 5000's technology has been around for decades- neither machine possesses any new, state-of-the-art capabilities.
DUI on Intoxilyzer 9000 v. 5000
Under Georgia law, you are DUI per se if you blow over the legal limit- currently .08 for those 21 and over. After a DUI arrest, you were probably read the implied consent notice and then asked to give a sample of breath, or less frequently, your blood. If asked for breath, you likely gave a sample on a 9000 (or the older 5000) at the jail or precinct. An easy way to tell which machine you tested on is to look at the copy of your test that you should have been given. If the test result is on a full-size sheet of paper, and has what looks like graphs on the right hand side, then you are looking at a 9000 test slip. If the test results are printed on what looks like a grocery store receipt, you took a test on the Intoxilyzer 5000. Either way, retain these results and scan them over to your attorney!
Defending a DUI on the Intoxilyzer 9000
We are seeing many non-DUI attorneys cut bait and run when they see these new 9000 results, however, these new DUI cases are just as defensible- perhaps even more- than their older 5000 counterparts. If you ask 10 cops for their honest answer, 8 of 10 will tell you they prefer the 5000. This is scary. In any DUI involving the 9000, we are combing through all tests the machine has run since put into service. One benefit of the new machine is that these tests are all stored and capable of being reproduced, unlike the 5000 tests which are gone once they are printed off. Seeing the machine's true history enables us to see the errors, missed calibrations, and other conditions that have lead the machine to have problems and failed tests. Of course, this is highly relevant to all cases, especially if the error has gone uncorrected.
If you have a DUI per se and took a test on the new Intoxilyzer 9000 machine, call us today to discuss your best defenses and our approach to fighting these cases. We have tracked the implementation of these machines since the beginning and have already developed a strategy to combating these results. We can be reached 24/7 at (770) 676-1340.