Alcohol Test Reliability to be Weighed by State Supreme Court

The blood-alcohol test used in drunken driving cases in New Jersey is coming before the state Supreme Court again.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the Alcotest was reliable. It had replaced the Breathalyzer test beginning seven years earlier, but numerous plaintiffs contended it routinely overstated blood-alcohol levels.

More than 10,000 DWI cases were put on hold while the case moved through the courts.

In oral arguments scheduled for Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court will consider whether the state complied with the 2008 court judgment requiring it to keep a centralized database of test results and make technical modifications to the machines.

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