Slashdot Mirror
Breathalyzer Source Code Ruling Upheld
dfn_deux writes "In a follow up to a 2005 story where Florida judge Doug Henderson ruled that breathalyzer evidence in more than 100 drunk driving cases would be inadmissible as evidence at trial, the Second District Court of Appeal and Circuit Court has ruled on Tuesday to uphold the 2005 ruling requiring the manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 5000, Kentucky-based CMI Inc, to release source code for their breathalyzer equipment to be examined by witnesses for the defense of those standing trial with breathalyzer test result being used as evidence against them. '"The defendant's right to a fair trial outweighed the manufacturer's claim of a trade secret," Henderson said Tuesday. In response to the ruling defense attorney, Mark Lipinski, who represents seven defendants challenging the source codes, said the state likely will be forced to reduce charges — or drop the cases entirely.' ... What this really means is that outside corporations cannot sell equipment to the state of Florida and expect to hide the workings of their machine by saying they are trade secret. It means the state has to give full disclosure concerning important and critical aspects of the case."
Someone is going to figure out how to file a defense involving the release of Microsoft Windows, I just know it.
Bearded Dragon
There's a joke here about the importance of open-source breathalyzers vs. voting machines but I'm too full of outrage fatigue to make an effort at it.
personally, I'm looking forward to being a tester on this project.
Fixed that for you.
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
Somebody with a 0.81 BAC probably has to worry more about a visit with a coroner than a judge or a slick attorney, whether they've been driving or not.
If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
I'll go down to Florida tonight, get smashed, walk up to the first cop I see and demand the test. Three short months later me and my chemistry degree have a competing product on the market.
If you walk up to a cop and he arrests you for DUI, you may have a decent false arrest case on your hands - Forget engineering a breathalyzer.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
I'm looking forward to seeing the secret breathing pattern the developers hid in the code so they could pass it every time.
http://www.mhall119.com
And while you're at it, put a line of coke on you dashboard and fire up that spliff! It's a friekin' party, man! Go down in style!
Ones that somehow don't notice the robe, wig, and gavel, obviously.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Or Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Home of the "I dont care if there are only 2 lanes on this road...it can FIT 4 cars wide if I take off this guy's mirror" and "Who cares if the ambulance has his lights and sirens going? Fucker is only doing 140km/h. I'm going faster than that, so I'll cut the fucker off"
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
OK, because they recognise it from the lodge carpark.
The herd has been culled, sounds like.
Few hundred more years of this, and we might just select for precognition.