A Minnesota man (not me) has demanded to see the source code for the breathalyzer that landed him in the clink.
Whether or not Dale Lee Underdahl would know what to do with the source code once it’s in his clammy hands is uncertain but “if a company proves unwilling to turn over the code, the case is often thrown out…”
The company that makes the Intoxilyzer is Owensboro, Kentucky’s CMI Incorporated. It doesn’t seem too willing to hand over the code and the state of Minnesota isn’t quite clear about who owns the code in the first place (it’s probably not Minnesota).
Machines such as this are often updated after they’re in the hands of law enforcement despite being state-certified first and newly-updated code can sometimes contain errors. If this is the case for Mr. Underdahl, he might be celebrating with a few frosty snow cones in no time.
UPDATE: It worked. He got the source code.
"Can I have your badge number and the source code to your breathalyzer?" [Ars Technica]