Summary
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that breathalyzer results obtained using a one-sample testing protocol were admissible despite the appellants’ challenge to their scientific reliability. The court affirmed the circuit court’s ruling, concluding that the appellants had not shown the protocol to be improper under applicable health department rules or inherently unreliable under West Virginia Rule of Evidence 702.
Holdings
- Breathalyzer results are admissible despite the use of a one-sample protocol when the appellants do not establish that the protocol constitutes improper administration under the Department of Health's prescribed rules or is scientifically unreliable under Rule 702.
Questions Presented
- Whether breathalyzer results produced under a one-sample testing protocol are inadmissible because the protocol fails to comply with applicable Department of Health requirements.
- Whether breathalyzer results produced under a one-sample protocol are inherently unreliable and therefore inadmissible under Rule 702 of the West Virginia Rules of Evidence.
Disposition
affirmed
Cases Cited (9)
- State v. Peyatt, 173 W. Va. 317, 315 S.E.2d 574 (1983)(followed)
- Gentry v. Mangum, 195 W. Va. 512, 466 S.E.2d 171 (1995)(followed)
- State v. Dyer, 160 W. Va. 166, 233 S.E.2d 309 (1977)(followed)
- State v. Hood, 155 W. Va. 337, 184 S.E.2d 334 (1971)(followed)
- Wilt v. Buracker, 191 W. Va. 39, 443 S.E.2d 196 (1993)(followed)
- State v. Dille, 258 N.W.2d 565 (Minn. 1977)(persuasive)
- Caretto v. Arizona Department of Transportation, 192 Ariz. 297, 965 P.2d 31 (1998)(persuasive)
- Commonwealth v. Durning, 406 Mass. 485, 548 N.E.2d 1242 (1990)(persuasive)
- State v. Barker, 179 W. Va. 194, 366 S.E.2d 642 (1988)(followed)
Cited In (0)
No citing cases on record yet.
Court Document
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