State v. West

A trial court properly denies a defendant’s request to exclude breath test results when there is an absence of satisfactory foundational requirements for scientific evidence; breath test results are admissible when the procedures of ORS 813.160(1) and associated rules have been followed.

Defendant appealed his conviction of driving under the influence of intoxications (DUII), which was done in part with evidence from an Intoxilyzer 8000 test that showed Defendant’s blood alcohol concentration was .11%. Defendant argued seven assignments of error in that conviction, including an error when the trial court denied defense counsel’s discovery request relating to source codes and schematics for the Intoxilyzer 8000, and for funding for an expert witness to show that the source codes and schematics for the Intoxilyzer 8000 were unreliable. The Court of Appeals found the trial court correctly determined that the discovery was outside the limits proscribed by ORS 135.855, and that Defendant failed to show that anything the expert could testify to would be useful to his case. Additionally, the failure to lay an independent foundation did not violate Defendant's right to due process and his right to confrontation under the Sixth Amendment. Affirmed.