Friday, June 25, 2010

Significant new DUI opinion

This week Judge Ogle in an opinion in which Judge Tipton and Witt concurred issued an opinion affecting two significant areas of law. The defense attempted to suppress the "traffic stop", which was based on a community caretaking function. The defense also tried to supress the breath test result, because they could not examine the computer source codes of the breath testing instrument. Each position was rejected in this case. It is an opinion prosecutors and officers should read and keep in mind in future cases.
I have never figured out how the source code issue could ever be examined. If the defense read the source code, which is represented in computer language that looks like numerous number 1's, they would use a computer to read it. Would that mean the State would be entitled to the source code for the Microsoft program used by the defense? And then would the defense get the source code for the program used by the State to read it's review? Sounds like an endless loop. The case would then be heard in 2017. Of course, that might be the whole goal of the defense request for the source code.
Read the case at:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCCA/PDF/102/State%20vs%20Elizabeth%20Gay%20Tindell.pdf

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