You blew into the breath-test machine after a night out in Charleston, and the number on the screen seemed to settle everything. But what if that same machine needed repairs a few days later? Breath-test machines are precision instruments that can malfunction, and South Carolina law builds safeguards around that possibility. Here is what the law requires, what a repair history can mean and where its limits lie.
State law requires a record of every machine problem
Every breath-test machine in South Carolina should leave a paper trail. State law requires the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and every agency that operates a breath-testing location to keep detailed logs of each device’s repairs, malfunctions, complaints and other problems. This rule covers the evidentiary machine at the testing site, not the handheld device an officer may use at the roadside.
Nearby repairs can put the burden on the State
These records matter most when a repair falls close to your test date. In the 2006 Landon decision, SLED repaired a breath-test machine just eight days after it tested a driver. The state’s highest court found that SLED’s records fell short of what the law requires and created a rule that may benefit you.
Once a driver presents initial evidence that the missing information may have hurt the case, the burden shifts to the State to prove the machine was working properly at the time of testing.
Your attorney can request the machine’s records
You do not have to guess about a machine’s past. SLED’s Implied Consent Department inspects and repairs every breath-testing device in the state and makes machine records available online. Your attorney can also request these records, along with the breath-room video, through the DUI discovery process and compare repair dates with your test date.
Records alone do not erase a breath result
A repair history is not an automatic dismissal, since the Landon court did not throw out the breath result but sent the case back so the State could try to prove the machine worked correctly. Prosecutors may also rely on other evidence, such as the officer’s observations, field sobriety tests and video.
The machine’s history deserves an early look in your case
South Carolina requires a detailed problem record for every breath-test machine, and a repair made soon after your test can put the burden on the State. Still, a repair alone will not automatically undo a breath result. Speaking with a DUI attorney soon after an arrest can help you request these records early, especially since you may have only 30 days to challenge a license suspension.
