District Attorneys in Massachusetts will not present evidence from breath tests in what attorneys estimate is more than 35,000 drunk driving cases.
It’s part of a proposed agreement with defense attorneys in a dispute over breath alcohol measuring equipment used by police.
Prosecutors will exclude breath test evidence in outstanding cases from 2011 to 2017, except those involving death or serious injury, because a state agency withheld evidence that some measuring devices failed annual inspections.
Vincent DeMore, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney, said the proposed agreement requires that agency to become accredited and should resolve concerns about the accuracy of testing equipment.
“I think far from it being a situation that should shake the confidence of the public,” he said, “it should be an area where we should have greater confidence in the reallibility of the instrument.”
A judge still has to sign off on the agreement.
