Lawyer: Breathalyzers Are 'KKK in a Box'

• "A lawyer representing a man arrested in Fairfield for drunken driving says the state's breathalyzers discriminate against black people. 'They are KKK in a box,' said lawyer James O. Ruane of Shelton. … Ruane represents Tyrone Brown, 40, of Burritt Avenue, Norwalk, who was arrested … and charged with drunken driving. … Brown had a blood-alcohol content of 0.188. The legal limit is 0.08. In a motion filed Tuesday in Superior Court, Ruane asked a judge to suppress his client's breathalyzer test results, contending the device used by the state police … discriminates against blacks. Brown is an African-American. … Ruane claims the lung capacity of a black man is 3 percent smaller than a white man and, therefore, black men's test results vary from the sobriety standard set by the device."

Nov 20, 2008 · posted by Cord Jefferson · Link · 9 Responses

• 12.05.08: More Than Half a Million Jobs Gone in November (Comments: 1)
• 12.05.08: Putting Lipstick on a Pit Bull Is Costly (Comments: 2)
• 12.05.08: Hispanics Ask for More Cabinet Representation (Comments: 13)
• 12.04.08: Evidence in Hudson Slayings Case Flawed (Comments: 3)
• 12.04.08: A UK Black Role Model Speaks (Comments: 5)

Tagged: Black Americans, Connecticut, Discrimination, DUIs, Law, Lawyers, Technology

Comments (9)

No. 1 · SweetDiva

How 'bout nobody drink and drive, k?

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 12:44 pm

No. 2 · my president is BLACK

Word!

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 1:21 pm

No. 3 · Ike

Lmao!

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 2:23 pm

No. 4 · CDF

Sort of like the former judge who sued the dry cleaners for "ruining" his suit…it'll get tossed.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 2:41 pm

No. 5 · *M*

Idiout (I spelled it wrong for a reason)

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 3:10 pm

No. 6 · Orchid

what…the…helll…?

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 4:52 pm

No. 7 · DivergentDana

Oh, dear.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 5:27 pm

No. 8 · geerussell

If he registered a 0.188 he was probably pretty wasted even allowing for testing error.

That being said, breathalyzers are really inaccurate on a number of different levels. It can be a pretty big deal in borderline cases.

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 at 6:47 pm

No. 9 · oogie

CDF: Aw I always sympathized with the guy who sued in that dry cleaning suit. I have heard way too many horror stories from friends involving Asian dry cleaners and black people. Sorry but it's true. Lord knows what that guy went through. Plus, he was a judge, he knows the deal, so I'm sure he wouldn't have put himself out there if it wasn't so important to him.

Posted: Nov 21, 2008 at 12:02 am

Leave a Comment