DUI Attorney Interviewed Regarding Blood Test Errors

If you recall a while back there was break­ing news about the Colorado Springs Crime Lab rean­a­lyz­ing all their 2009 blood alco­hol cases after find­ing errors that showed an ongo­ing high bias.

Below is an inter­view of a promi­nent Colorado Springs DUI Attorney Timothy R. Bussey.

Timothy R. Bussey’s phone started ring­ing when Colorado Springs Police announced in December that crime lab mis­takes had led to inflated results in about 82 blood alco­hol con­tent tests.

Most of the calls were from clients won­der­ing if the mis­takes would have an impact on their DUI cases, an area of the law in which Bussey specializes.

Bussey has taken an active inter­est in the dis­cov­ery of the lab result errors. He recently filed a Colorado Open Records Act request for more infor­ma­tion, but did not get all of the infor­ma­tion he requested.

The 4^th Judicial District Attorney’s case is com­pil­ing a report on what impact the lab mis­takes had on DUI cases. That report is expected to be out this week.

Meanwhile, The Sidebar put five ques­tions to Bussey. Here are his responses:

Were you sur­prised when the Colorado Springs Police Department dis­closed that there had been 82 cases in which blood alco­hol test results were overstated?

Certainly it was a great cause for con­cern when a foren­sic lab­o­ra­tory is com­mit­ting repeated errors. A foren­sic lab­o­ra­tory must con­form to strict pro­to­cols and com­ply with cer­ti­fi­ca­tion require­ments. If there is a devi­a­tion from the pro­to­cols the erro­neous results cre­ate con­fu­sion and doubt in the legal process.

What’s been the reac­tion to that news among your clients?

My clients have requested infor­ma­tion con­cern­ing their case and want to know what is going on at the CSPD Laboratory. They are con­cerned that an error was made on their test.

How did you become inter­ested in DUI defense as a specialty?

I began defend­ing DUI cases as a mil­i­tary defense coun­sel in the Air Force at Peterson AFB. I had some suc­cess defend­ing clients. I then left the mil­i­tary and went to the District Attorney’s Office and pros­e­cuted DUI cases. When I went into pri­vate prac­tice it was a nat­ural transition.

What’s the key to being an effec­tive defender in a DUI case?

A good DUI defense attor­ney knows the sci­ence behind the DUI inves­ti­ga­tion. You must be will­ing to chal­lenge the law enforce­ment inves­ti­ga­tion and exploit any weak­nesses in the government’s case.

What’s your favorite law movie?

“My Cousin Vinny”

Article Originally posted in the Colorado Springs Gazette.