You did not want to get a DUI, so you gave yourself a breath test before you got in the car. According to the test that you purchased, which you believe to be accurate, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was below the legal limit.
However, you got pulled over on the way home. The police claimed that you were impaired based on the fact that you failed field sobriety tests. They also gave you a portable breath test or took you to the station for a Breathalyzer. They claim that you were over the legal limit.
Not only are you confused about how you could be over the legal limit in the situation, but you want to know if you can use the results from your own test to fight the DUI charges. Is this possible?
It is probably inadmissible
Generally speaking, the breath tests that you can buy online are inadmissible if you wind up in court. They can’t be entered as evidence. No matter what reading you got, it’s not going to sway the court.
The problems are multiple. First of all, your device is probably not approved for official use. Secondly, the authorities don’t know if you administered your own test properly. Third, you may have no evidence that you even took the test.
Essentially, there are just too many variables. The court can’t be sure that your test provided an accurate result. The police may be able to enter their breath test readings as evidence, but you’re likely not going to be able to.
That certainly doesn’t mean you can’t fight the charges. It just means you need to know about all of your options to do so.