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CG Labs now Accredited - breath testing analysis for NH DWI defense lawyers
March 27th, 2013
Many NH DWI / DUI clients ask if their breath sample could be contaminated because they were exposed to chemicals in the workplace, or because the police department booking room walls had been freshly painted, etc. Other clients, who provided blood samples to the police (sometimes "voluntarily," sometimes involuntarily) also ask if anything could have contaminated the blood alcohol concentrations in their blood samples.
New Hampshire is the only State in the country that requires police officers to collect captured samples of breath for each breath test administered to the accused in custody. The samples are captured in tubes containing a silica gel, sealed in tamper-resistant bags and given to the accused for independent testing at a later date. The NH forensic laboratory also preserves samples of blood for 90 days after testing.
Thus, NH DWI defense lawyers are able to send the captured samples to an independent laboratory for breath or blood alcohol concentration (BAC) analysis using a gas chromatograph, a sophisticated instrument that is much more accurate and reliable than the Intoxilyzer 5000 used by police departments to collect and test breath samples. The Intoxilyzer 5000 uses the crude, circa 1970s "infrared" method of testing breath samples.
The gas chromatograph, unlike infrared testing methods, is "specific," meaning that it provides information as to the specific concentration of ethanol (the stuff you drink), as opposed to acetone and other compounds that could distort the reading on an infrared testing device.
CG Labs, Inc., located in Pembroke, NH is the only laboratory in the entire country known to this author that will test captured breath samples using a gas chomatograph. I have successfully defended DWI cases by providing captured sample reports to the prosecutor that show a significant deviation in the BAC reading from CG Labs as compared to the Intoxilyzer 5000 "official" reported value. CG Labs will also conduct analysis of the BAC in blood samples seized during DWI investigations.
CG Labs announced recently that the lab is now accredited by the ASCLD-LAB International program in the field of Human Performance Forensic Toxicology (blood/alcohol only). I have worked with CG Labs founder and President John "Jay" Godfrey for 18 years, I have sent countless samples for his lab to retest, and I have called him to testify in DWI jury trials. In all instances, I have been very impressed with the work performed by Godfrey and his laboratory, and recommend him highly. Here is a letter sent to me by Jay Godfrey announcing his lab's Accreditation.
