Tampa, Florida --The Sherriff's deputy has just pulled over a driver and tells her he wants her to stand with her feet together.
Eventually the driver, Janet Landrum, is arrested for DUI. She is very familiar with the process as the deputy finds out on the computer screen. Landrum has been caught driving under the influence 10 times in the past.
When Landrum took a breathalyzer test on the Intoxilyzer 8000 machine she blew a .119, above the legal .08 limit. Now, a three judge panel in Hillsborough is evidence that the machine is not reliable. Experts say the machine has tested people who gave two samples, but the machine only reported just one result. The experts also found blood alcohol levels were reported without breath volume being recorded.
DUI expert witness Stephen Daniels says they have noticed hundreds of tests where people submitted breath samples and the machine gave a blood alcohol concentration with no breath volume. Daniels asks how the machine can show a result if nobody blew into the machine.
And while the breathalyzer the sheriff's office uses has the same name as the one which was approved by the state in 2004, the software has been vastly different. In addition, there have been problems with the machine. Also, somehow the manufacturer has destroyed the original software, leading defense attorneys to say someone who is under the legal limit could actually be convicted of a DUI.
Daniels says it's a little disturbing when you look into it and it appears to be one cover up after another.
Daniels says the state is working with the manufacturer to cover up the fact the machine being used is not on the DOT conforming product list. He says for a machine to be used by the state of Florida it has to be on the conforming product list.
And while Hillsborough judges are deciding if the machine is valid, a Sarasota judge is already convinced. Despite Janet Landrum's 10 prior convictions, he tossed out her case, saying the state can't prove the machine is accurate.
We contacted both the manufacturer of the machine and the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, but neither returned our calls.