It has long been the law that Prearrest or Preliminary Breath Testing (PBT) results are not admissible in criminal trials. The exceptions involved their usage to develop probable cause to perform admissible testing like a certified breathalyzer in a police station or to draw and test a driver’s blood. The Pennsylvania Superior Court, however, recently modified that law in Commonwealth v. Brigidi. The Court clarified that while PBT results are admissible in underage drinking cases if properly obtained, they are not admissible if they are not referenced in the list of approved PBTdevices published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, calibrated, and tested for accuracy in the manner specified by regulations of the Departments of Health and Transportation. Since, in our experience, very few PBT devices utilized in Mongomery County, Bucks County, and surrounding areas meet these requirements, this is a crucial ruling that should be examined by an experienced criminal defense practitioner in any DUI or Underage Drinking case.
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Criminal defense and personal injury attorneys in Montgomery, Bucks and surrounding counties.
Steven F. Fairlie is Chair of the Montgomery County Criminal Defense Committee and AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
(215) 997-1000
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Ms. Elizabeth L. Lippy has been recognized for her legal skills by being named a “Lawyer on the Fast Track,” by the Legal Intelligencer.
(215) 997-1000
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Law Office of Fairlie & Lippy, P.C.
1501 Lower State Road, Suite 304
North Wales, Pennsylvania 19454
© 2010 Law Office of Fairlie & Lippy, P.C.
Fairlie & Lippy, P.C. are Pennsylvania lawyers representing criminal, DUI and personal injury clients throughout Montgomery County and Bucks County including Horsham, Montgomeryville, Montgomery Township, North Wales, Norristown, Doylestown, Blue Bell, Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd, Upper Gwynedd, Lansdale, Hatboro, Chalfont, Warrington, Lower Providence, Upper Providence, New Britain, Hatfield, Soudertown, Skippack, Lower Merion, Upper Merion, King of Prussia, Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Upper Moreland, Lower Moreland, Worcester, Upper Dublin, Plymouth, Glenside, Towamencin, Conshohocken, East Norriton, West Norriton, Limerick, Franconia, Villanova, Whitemarsh and surrounding communities.
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