State v. Williams

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion which allows the prosecution to utilize the statutory presumption of intoxication arising from the chemical analysis of the defendant’s blood, pursuant to LSA-R.S. 32:662. In State v. Rowell, 517 So.2d 799, a 1988 decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the techniques approved by the Department of Public Safety to assure the accuracy of blood alcohol testing was insufficient:

“because they did not contain provisions for repair, maintenance, inspection, cleaning, certification and chemical accuracy” Id. at 802.

The chemical analysis in…