Well, the long awaited opinion has finally been handed down. The only problem is that the Appellate Division really only decided one issue, that being there is no reason to require that only the Ertco-Hart temperature probe be used during the calibration of the Alcotest.
The main issue that was not decided was whether the Control Company probe is reliable. The Court recognized the issues raise by Holland and Pizzo at the trial court level leave questions regarding the the reliability of the Control Co. temperature probe. This included, inter alia, differences in the timing of the calibrating requirements, and confusion over the calibration certificates. These issues are the same issues that NJ DWI lawyers have been asking the courts to address. While the Court did hold that NIST traceable device does not mean the Ertco-Hart probe alone will suffice, It did remand the unresolved issues to the trial courts to determine the reliability of the Control Probe.
These issues should be resolved in within the next 60 days. To be continued.
Essex County NJ Criminal Attorney Blog 