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DWI
By Ted Vosk
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DWI columns.
Breath Testing and The Washington State Toxicology Lab
“Simulator solutions are being falsified as far as the certification.”
This anonymous tip, left on a Washington State Patrol (WSP) message
service on March 15, 2007, was not the first clue that there was
something wrong in the Washington State Toxicology Lab. It was, however,
the one that led to the revelation of the panoply of sins the Lab was
guilty of: perjury, conspiracy, cover-ups, carelessness, reckless
disregard for the truth, incompetence, and failures to follow
universally accepted scientific standards. Twenty years of complacency
and an overriding concern for facilitating successful prosecutions at
the expense of sound science threatened the liberty of innocent citizens
and the integrity of the system of justice itself. Now, a once highly
respected state toxicologist has resigned and breath test results
throughout the state, stretching back for at least half a decade, are in
question.
Basic Problems
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