DWI Attorneys Challenge Alcohol Breath Test Machine

The son of Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress was scheduled to appear in court this on DWI charges. But 25-year-old Kyle Childress' entire case is now on hold.

Kyle Childress is one of at least a thousand Minnesotans charged with drunken driving who are part of consolidated court case that has the potential to overturn thousands more DWI convictions. The issue is the reliability of the Intoxilyzer or breathalyzer test.

After Kyle Childress rammed another car in the parking lot of O'Gara's Bar in January, St. Paul Police gave him a breath test. Childress had a 0.23 blood alcohol concentration, according to that test.

Now Kyle Childress and his attorney David Valentini are challenging, in court, the reliability of the Intoxilyzer test and Childress' arrest.

"We don't believe that the Intoxilyzer 5000 works how it's supposed to work in all of the cases," said Valentini.

For Valentini, a prominent DWI attorney, the Kyle Childress case is one of hundreds he and others are challenging. The cases have been bundled together into one and will be heard in September by Judge Jerome Abrams of Scott County.

"There is an enormous amount at stake," Valentini said.

If the challenge is successful, thousands of pending cases could be thrown out or put in jeopardy.

Despite the legal challenges, many local police departments and the Minnesota State Patrol are continuing to use the Intoxilyzer. They argue its cheaper and faster than blood and urine tests.

However, because of the challenges, the Minneapolis Police Department is only using blood and urine tests.

Victims advocates believe the legal challenges are a threat to public safety.

"It's terrible because all of these cases are hanging in limbo. These people, most of them, probably still have their drivers licenses," said Jon Cummings of Minnesotans for Safe Driving.

But attorneys for DWI defendants argue the challenge is needed because nothing less than the fairness and integrity of the legal system is at stake.

This court challenge is a culmination of years of legal battles between DWI attorneys and CMI, the makers of the Intoxilyzer 5000.

The state of Minnesota will be fighting the legal challenges in court this fall. Department of Public Safety Spokesman Andy Skoogman said the state "strongly believes in the Intoxilyzor test. We believe it's reliable and we encourage its continued use."


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