Breath testing is broken. Because of some major flaws in how the machines function, many people falsely get charged with DUI. One group of people at higher risk for false positives is Diabetics. Breath testing indirectly measures the amount of alcohol in a breath sample. The machine measures ethanol based on its wavelength. Unfortunately, many…
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Why The McShane Firm? We Know Blood Testing
There are a lot of law firms out there who are willing to take on your criminal or DUI case, but there is only one McShane Firm. So how is the McShane Firm different and better than the rest? In this series, we will take a look at some factors you should consider when choosing…
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Why The McShane Firm? We Know Breath Testing
There are a lot of law firms out there who are willing to take on your criminal or DUI case, but there is only one McShane Firm. So how is the McShane Firm different and better than the rest? In this series, we will take a look at some factors you should consider when choosing…
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Forced Blood Draws are Ruled Unconstitutional by SCOTUS
A few months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States considered the question whether states may attach criminal penalties on a diver who refuses to submit to a blood or breath test to measure the blood alcohol concentration level during a DUI arrest. For Birchfield v. North Dakota case, the Court wanted to know in…
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Mis-calibrated Breathalyzer Machine Problems in PA
One of the main problems with DUI breath testing is that individual police departments are responsible for making sure the machines are working properly. There are no checks and balances. Imagine a restaurant conducting its own food and health inspections. It makes no sense. Well then why does it make sense for the police to…
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PA JUDGE FALLS OVER DURING ROADSIDE TEST
When State Trooper Daniel Beatty stopped a swerving black Mercedes Benz down Route 28 on the July Fourth holiday weekend, he thought it would be a routine DUI stop. As he approached the car, he said the female driver was “reeking of alcohol, staggering and incoherent to the situation.” Officer Beatty was surprised that the…
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DRIVING THROUGH THE DUI PROCESS Part 1 of 6: The Arrest
Welcome to our new blog series where we will drive you through the DUI process from the time of arrest all the way to trial. There may be a number of signals that can trigger an officer to suspect you of driving under the influence. For example, you might have been driving too slowly, changing lanes…
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Don’t Eat (Pizza) and Drive!
Did you know that eating white bread, donuts and pizza dough can register positive blood-alcohol readings on a Breathalyzer Machine? Sounds absurd—but it’s true. A number of experiments were conducted where the BAC of a normal person was recorded by the breath machine to be 0.0% . The subject then ate a slice of white bread…
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Attorney Justin McShane Published in Understanding DUI Scientific Evidence
Congratulations to Attorneys Justin McShane and Katherine McShane, of The McShane Firm, who co-authored a chapter in the book Understanding DUI Scientific Evidence. This book is widely respected in legal circles as it is authored by top attorneys and scientists. The chapter they authored is entitled “Pennsylvania DUID Prosecution: The Measurand Problem” . DUI Drugs (DUID) is a…
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Attorney McShane Lectures for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
In my time lecturing on forensic science, I have had the honor of instructing scientists, judges, policy-makers, defense attorneys and even prosecutors. I think it is important that all the stakeholders in the criminal justice system know the science involved so we can make sure we are not convicting innocent people. Recently I was invited to…
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