Today the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that any defendant who pleaded guilty to an OUI or who was convicted of an OUI may withdraw their plea or seek a retrial if the Alcotest 9510 breath test was used in their case.

According to the SJC, in light of government misconduct involving the state police office of alcohol testing (OAT) and its use of the Draeger Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer,

defendants who pleaded guilty or who were convicted after trial, and the evidence against whom included breath test results from the Alcotest 9510 device from June 1, 2011, through April 18, 2019, are entitled to a conclusive presumption of egregious government misconduct. They may proceed in motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, and motions for new trials, without having to establish egregious government misconduct in each case…and their breath test results are excluded from use at any subsequent trial.

The full text of the SJC’s decision is attached below.

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