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Judge's Ruling may
affect DUI cases statewide Edgefielddaily.com web posted April 25, 2005 Staff reporting Richland County Circuit Court Judge G. Thomas Cooper ruled against prosecutors using breath test results in a non-fatal collision that resulted in a DUI charge against Ronald Landon, 38, of Columbia, his second according to court records. Landon’s attorney, Joe McCulloch, sought the ruling on the basis of lax or non-existent record keeping of malfunctions of the DataMaster breathalyzer machines at the Richland county jail. Under a 2001 state law local agencies and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are required to keep detailed records of breakdowns, maintenance, and repairs. There are 160 DataMaster machines statewide and SLED is responsible for their maintenance. North Augusta defense lawyer Jim Huff was quoted by The State as saying, “SLED has shrouded it in secrecy. We’ve got a box that we don’t get to look into,” referring to SLED’s refusal to grant defense attorney’s access to records on the machines and the programming. This, they claim, allows SLED the possibility to hide evidence that could exonerate their clients. SLED maintains the machines are reliable and posts the records online. Defense attorneys claim the records are not detailed nor do they reflect reoccurring and foreseeable problem machines. Prosecutors are asking the state Court of Appeals to review the ruling. Whether the lower-court ruling applies only to Richland County or could possibly affect other pending DUI cases in the state will be something the appellate court will decide. Edgefield County Sheriff Adell Dobey was not available for comment at press time. We will have his comments and information on the equipment used at the Edgefield County Law Enforcement Center tomorrow. More at The State Return to
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