Both the breath test device and the breath test operator must be certified by the Massachusetts State Police Office of Alcohol Testing (OAT).
The breath test device must be certified every year under 501 CMR 2.06.
While the breath test operator (typically the police officer administering the test) must be certified every three years. See 501 CMR 2.07(3).
If you take the breathalyzer, the police should give you a “Breath Test Report Form.” You should review the information on the form to confirm that both the breath test device and the breath test operator are in good standing.
You should also be aware of the certification requirements because they occasionally cause problems for the police that might give you a decent legal defense.
About once or twice a year I see a situation where police make an OUI arrest and either their breathalyzer or their breath test operator is not in good standing.
When this happens, the arresting officer needs to scramble to find another police department that has the resources he needs at the ready.
This has to be done promptly because the breath test must be performed “within a reasonable period of time” per 501 CMR 2.13(a).
Additionally, when two or more police departments get involved in a single arrest, discovery problems are likely to arise.
For instance, I once had a small local police department arrest one of my clients. The department did not have either a certified breathalyzer or a certified operator. So they brought my client to the nearest state police barrakcs.
The state police either failed to record the breath test procedure or lost the video. Either way it created Rule 14 discovery problems for the prosecutor who ultimately agreed to dismiss the OUI.