Breath test results tossed

EVERETT, Wash. – A panel of Snohomish County judges has ruled that prosecutors cannot use breath test results as evidence against nearly 40 drunken driving defendants because of questions about work performed at the State Patrol’s toxicology lab.

“The court has let the state know if the state wants to deprive a person of their liberty it has to rely on evidence that is both scientifically sound and not tainted with misconduct,” said Theodore Vosk, a Bellevue lawyer who argued the case for several drunken driving defendants.

The issue arose after Ann Marie Gordon, a state toxicology lab manager, was accused of making false claims about verifying solutions used for breath tests. Gordon resigned in July after being accused of falsely signing that she had verified quality-assurance solutions used in the tests.

The judges issued their ruling Monday.

Judges in neighboring Skagit County have ruled that the tests are admissible there; King County has scheduled a hearing on the question in January.

The King County prosecutor’s office has declined to file perjury charges against Gordon, finding that she did sign forms stating she had “examined and tested” solutions when in fact the work was done by a subordinate, but that she did not knowingly swear a false statement. She argued that she believed signing the forms was simply a function of her oversight of the testing.

A 10-page legal analysis released by the prosecutor’s office concluded there was no evidence that Gordon’s conduct compromised the accuracy of the testing.