Houston DWI Law Blog : Houston DWI Lawyer & Attorney : Johnson Johnson & Baer Law Firm : Texas DUI Defense & Criminal Law

Deetrice Wallace, the technical supervisor responsible for maintaining the integrity of the breath test machines used by law enforcement to convict arrestees of DWI, will be spending the next year behind bars for faking inspections on the breath test machines.

I have spoken to Ms. Wallace on many occasions over the past few years as we have obtained information about the breath testing machines that she inspected.  She seemed like a nice enough person and was always forthcoming with the information that we requested.  She even requested that the payments for the records go to a Boy Scout Troop.  I'm not sure what led her to fake the results of the tests, but it sure has had a huge impact on many DWI client's lives.

The real question that I have is why has it taken so long for Harris County to say that they will not oppose a new trial for those that were affected by the fake tests?  Galveston County sent me a list of my Galveston DWI clients that took a breath test where Deetrice Wallace had maintained the breathalyzer back on January 15, 2009.  Harris County still has not sent me a list of my clients that are affected by Deetrice Wallace.  We have had to re-create that list on our own.

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According to a yahoo article, Toyota is in the process of developing technology to combat drunk driving in commercial vehicles.  The device that they are currently testing would have a hand-held breathalyzer that detects alcohol in a persons breath and prevent the vehicle from being started if the level of alcohol is over a certain amount.   The article goes on to state that there will be a camera to verify the person that has blown into the machine.

Funny thing about this article is the technology already exists and is being used in DWI cases every day here in Houston.  The only difference is that the technology used here in Texas is "after market," not original to the vehicle.  Go see my friends at EZ Interlock if you are interested in the technology that is already on the market. 

The Harris County courts are using this technology more and more often.  My concern is that Big Brother is getting bigger and bigger.  I think it is very possible that Big Brother may mandate this type of technology for everyone at some point in our history, and that is just frightening.  What else is Big Brother going to mandate - that we all GPS technology in our vehicles so they can know where we are at all times?

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