An Arizona appellate court has overturned a judge’s order requiring prosecutors in numerous drunken-driving cases to obtain computer code used in a breath-testing machine and provide it to defense attorneys.
A Tucson-based panel of Court of Appeals judges ruled Tuesday that Judge Deborah Bernini of Pima County Superior Court shouldn’t have issued the order because law enforcement officials did not have the “source code” for the Intoxilyzer 8000 machine and had no way to get it.
The manufacturer, CMI Inc. of Owensboro, Ky., contended that the code is a trade secret, and CMI has resisted efforts in Arizona and Kentucky courts to require it to disclose the code.
Defense attorneys contend they need the code to challenge the accuracy and reliability of the machine.
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