State v. Roles

Defendant was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants. ORS 487.540. Prior to trial his motion to suppress the results of a breathalyzer test was granted, and the state appeals.

The basis for defendant’s motion was that the breathalyzer result was unreliable because at the time of his arrest he was participating in an Antabuse treatment program. Defendant offered evidence that when one consumes alcohol, it is broken down in the body to acetaldehyde and then to acetone. Antabuse retards the breakdown of acetaldehyde, causing it to build up to abnormal levels, which causes nausea…