By: Dick Brinster
Uncertainty about an eventual state Supreme Court ruling over validity of readings from a machine many police departments are now using instead of the decades-old Breathalyzers have not deterred East Windsor or Hightstown from pressing drunken driving charges.
East Windsor Police Chief William Spain and Hightstown Lt. John Reppy say there has been no change in police practices and that will continue into the spring, when the high court is expected to issue its ruling on use of the Alcotest system both departments are using in cases where motorists are suspected of driving while intoxicated.
"Intoxicated drivers are a serious public safety issue," Chief Spain said. "The fact that this litigation is under way has had no impact on the charging of DWI suspects. Breath-test readings are just one element used in the prosecution of DWI suspects."
Lt. Reppy said Hightstown also is not thinking in terms of what-if.
"Our officers have not been avoiding DWI enforcement," he said. "To the contrary, our enforcement has increased over the last year."
Borough cops proffered DWI charges against 51 motorists in 2005. They put the $12,000 Alcotest system into service on Nov. 14, 2005, and made 83 charges of DWI last year.
Chief Spain, whose department made 93 DWI arrests in 2005 and 97 last year, said he isn’t worried about the court’s acceptance of the Alcotest machine the department has been using since last May.
"I am confident that the testing instrument will eventually be found to be scientifically reliable based on representations made by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and those of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office," he said.
That confidence should be bolstered even more by the recommendation earlier this month by retired Appellate Division Judge Michael Patrick King to the high court that Alcotest is superior to the Breathalyzer and should be considered "acceptable for evidentiary for breath tests in New Jersey."
The Supreme Court has ruled that drivers can be prosecuted on the basis of blood alcohol readings achieved with Alcotest, an automated device that replaced Breathalyzers that had to be set by hand. But those defendants who have fought the charges are not being sentenced until the court rules on admissibility of the tests.
Chief Spain said East Windsor Municipal Court records show the sentencing of 19 defendants has been delayed as a result of the pending ruling. He said he could not say how much revenue could be lost.
"I suppose a judgment related to any loss of revenue would depend on the adjudication of those matters," he said, adding that municipalities receive $100 for each DWI conviction from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety’s Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund.
Lt. Reppy said Hightstown has virtually no backlog of cases, and he indicated he did not know how much money could be lost as a result of an unfavorable court finding.
"The only cases we have on hold are those involving attorneys directly involved with the appeal of the testing," he said.

