You walked out of the College Station jail with one thought stuck in your head: the breath test printer said you were over the limit, so you must be guilty. That single number can feel like a verdict, especially if officers or jail staff treated it as the end of the story. With a court date and your license on the line, it is easy to assume there is nothing left to fight.
In reality, breath test results in College Station DWI cases are only one piece of the puzzle, and they are not nearly as perfect as police and prosecutors suggest. The machines rely on assumptions, the officers running them can make mistakes, and your own body and medical history can affect the reading. Understanding how those pieces fit together is the first step to deciding whether you can challenge your breath test and protect your future.
At The Andreski Law Firm, we look at these cases from both sides. Attorney Donnie Andreski brings 20 years of experience as a former police officer and detective into every DWI defense. We understand how Bryan and College Station officers are trained to use breathalyzers, how those machines are supposed to be maintained, and where corners are often cut. In this guide, we share how breath tests really work in Texas and the specific ways we can challenge them in Brazos County courts.
Why a Failed Breath Test in College Station Does Not End Your DWI Case
Most people walk out of jail believing a failed breath test means an automatic DWI conviction. The State benefits when people think that way, because a printed number looks objective and scientific. In Brazos County, prosecutors often lean heavily on that report, especially if they believe the traffic stop and field sobriety tests are weak. But Texas law does not say that any number over 0.08 automatically equals guilt in every situation.
DWI charges are usually built on a combination of evidence. That can include driving behavior, the officer’s observations, field sobriety tests, video from the patrol car or body cameras, and chemical tests like breath or blood. The breath test is one tool. It is powerful when the State lays the right foundation, and the rest of the evidence lines up, and it is vulnerable when the machine, the operator, or the circumstances fall short of the rules.
The law also separates two ideas. One is the per se DWI theory, which uses a 0.08 or higher result to argue you were legally intoxicated based on that number alone. The other is impairment, which focuses on whether your normal mental or physical faculties were impaired, regardless of the exact BAC. In College Station cases, prosecutors often charge under both theories. When we attack the breath test, we are not just going after a number. We are also undercutting the State’s attempt to show that you were truly impaired.
Challenging a breath test can affect both whether the result ever reaches a jury and how much weight that jury gives it. We can argue that the State did not meet the basic requirements to admit the test at all, or that problems with the machine, the procedure, or your circumstances make the number unreliable. We have seen College Station and Bryan cases where careful work on these issues changed how judges and prosecutors viewed the breath evidence and opened the door to better outcomes.
How Breath Test Machines Used in Texas Actually Measure Alcohol
To understand why breath test results can be challenged, you have to know how the machines work. In Texas, police agencies typically use evidential breath test instruments at the station, while smaller portable devices are used in the field. The evidential machines are designed to measure alcohol in what is called deep lung, or alveolar, air. The idea is that air from the deepest part of your lungs has an alcohol concentration that reflects the alcohol in your bloodstream.
These machines draw in a sample of your breath and use technology such as infrared light to estimate the amount of alcohol present. Alcohol molecules absorb light at certain wavelengths, so the machine measures the amount of light absorbed and uses that information to estimate alcohol concentration. The machine then applies a calculation to convert that estimate into an approximation of your blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, which is the number you see on the printout.
One of the key assumptions built into this process is called the partition ratio. This is the assumed relationship between the amount of alcohol in your breath and the amount in your blood. The machine uses a standard ratio that is based on averages in test populations. The problem is that real people are not averages. Your individual physiology, temperature, and other factors can cause your personal partition ratio to differ from what the machine assumes, which can change the reported BAC.
It also matters which device is involved in your case. The small portable testers often used on the roadside are typically screening tools, not the official evidential test. In many Texas courts, including those in Brazos County, those roadside results are treated differently from an evidential test given at the station. As a former officer, Attorney Andreski was trained on how these machines are supposed to be operated, what officers are supposed to watch for when you blow, and when a test should be repeated or refused. That training helps us see where the process in your College Station case may have gone off script.
Common Machine & Maintenance Problems That Can Skew Breath Test Results
Even the best-designed machine cannot produce reliable results if it is not maintained and checked the way the rules require. In Texas, evidential breath test instruments are supposed to be subject to regular maintenance, calibration, and quality control checks. These checks are meant to make sure the machine is reading accurately and consistently. If those steps are skipped, delayed, or done incorrectly, the numbers it prints can be called into question.
Every breath test machine has a history. That history often includes logs of maintenance, calibration checks, and any malfunctions or errors. A machine might have a pattern of error codes, failed test runs, or adjustments that suggest ongoing problems. If your test was run on a machine that had unresolved issues close in time to your arrest, that can be important. We obtain and review maintenance and calibration records in Bryan and College Station DWI cases instead of simply taking the machine’s word for it.
There are also environmental factors and setup issues that can matter. Breath test instruments can be sensitive to electrical problems or radio frequency interference. If the machine is placed near certain equipment, if the room setup is not ideal, or if basic checks are skipped before the test, the reading can be affected. We do not invent technical defects that are not there, but we do look for concrete signs in the records and reports that the environment and setup were not what they should have been.
All of this becomes more than theory when you consider how the State plans to use your result. For a Brazos County prosecutor to rely on a breath test, they typically need to show that the machine was working properly, that it was maintained under applicable rules, and that it passed quality control checks. If maintenance logs show gaps, repeated error codes, or missed checks, that gives us a basis to challenge that foundation. As we dig into these details for each client, we are looking for the specific machine history issues that make your breath result less trustworthy.
Officer Mistakes During Testing That Open the Door to Challenges
Technology gets most of the attention, but in many College Station DWI cases, the biggest problems come from the human side of the process. The officer who runs your test has to follow a specific set of steps. When they are tired, rushed, or juggling multiple tasks at the station, those steps are easy to shortcut. Those shortcuts can make a real difference in the final number that prints out.
One of the most important requirements is the observation or deprivation period before the test. Officers are supposed to watch you for a set period of time and make sure you do not eat, drink, vomit, smoke, or put anything in your mouth. The goal is to make sure that the alcohol the machine measures is coming from your deep lung air, not from residual alcohol in your mouth or throat. If you burp, have reflux, or throw up, and the officer does not restart the observation period, your reading can be artificially high.
On paper, many reports in Brazos County will say the observation period was completed properly. In real life, video from the station sometimes tells a different story. We have seen situations where an officer is filling out paperwork, talking to another person, or stepping away during the supposed observation time. The report may still contain the standard language saying everything was done correctly. As a former detective, Attorney Andreski is used to reading reports critically and comparing them to video to spot exactly these kinds of inconsistencies.
Instructions and documentation matter as well. If the officer does not clearly explain how to blow into the machine, or if they hurry you through the process, you may not give the kind of sample the machine assumes you are giving. If the officer does not document unusual events, such as coughing fits or your difficulty blowing, that missing context can later be used to make the result look more reliable than it really is. We look not only at what is in the report but also at what is missing and how that lines up with the video and the machine’s own records.
Medical & Physical Factors That Can Distort a BAC Reading
Your body does not always behave the way the breath test machine assumes. Certain medical and physical conditions can cause the machine to see a higher alcohol concentration than is actually present in your blood. The law recognizes that these issues can matter, which is why the observation period and other safeguards exist. When those safeguards are not followed, your personal health situation becomes even more important.
Conditions like acid reflux and GERD can cause stomach contents, including alcohol, to move back into the esophagus and mouth. If that happens near the time of your breath test, the machine may measure this alcohol in your mouth and upper airway instead of just the alcohol in your deep lung air. That is called mouth alcohol. A reading influenced by mouth alcohol can overstate your true BAC, especially if the officer does not restart the observation period after a reflux event.
Breathing patterns can also play a role. For example, hyperventilating or taking deep, rapid breaths before blowing can change how alcohol is exchanged in your lungs and may affect the concentration the machine measures. Holding your breath for an extended period can have a similar effect. The machine is built on assumptions about normal breathing, which you may not match when you are nervous, anxious, or physically uncomfortable at the station.
Other factors can include body temperature, certain medications, and dental work that traps alcohol in the mouth for longer. We do not offer medical advice, but we do take time to ask our clients about health conditions, recent illnesses, and anything unusual that happened around the time of the test. When appropriate, we use that information to explain to the court how your body could have affected the reading and why the machine’s assumptions do not fit your situation.
Texas Legal Standards for Breath Tests in Brazos County Courts
All of these technical and human issues matter because Texas law sets certain expectations for breath test evidence. In Brazos County courts, prosecutors do not get to simply hand the jury a number and call it a day. They generally must show that the test was performed on an approved machine, that the machine was in proper working order, that the officer was properly certified, and that the procedure was followed the way the rules require.
Lawyers often talk about admissibility and weight. Admissibility is the threshold question of whether the breath test result can be presented as evidence at all. If there are serious defects in machine maintenance, operator certification, or test procedure, we may argue that the result should be kept out of evidence. Weight is about how much the judge or jury should trust the number once it is in evidence. Even if a result is admitted, we can use cross-examination and other evidence to show why that particular number deserves less trust.
In a College Station DWI case, challenging admissibility might involve questioning whether the State has laid the proper foundation. Did they bring in the right witnesses to explain the machine’s functioning and maintenance? Do the records they produce show timely calibration and quality control checks? Were observation period requirements met? When we have a strong record of problems, we can ask the judge to limit or reject the breath test evidence.
When admissibility challenges are not available or do not fully succeed, we focus on weight. That can mean presenting evidence about your medical conditions, pointing out inconsistencies between the officer’s report and the station video, or highlighting the machine’s maintenance history. We appear in Bryan and College Station courts and have seen how local judges and prosecutors react to different types of breath test problems. That experience helps us choose the right battles in your case.
Building a Defense Strategy Around Your College Station Breath Test
Knowing that breath tests are not perfect is one thing. Turning that knowledge into a real defense strategy is another. In a College Station DWI case, time is short, and the details matter. Our goal is to quickly identify which issues apply to your situation and build a plan that uses them effectively rather than relying on generic arguments that may not fit your facts.
We usually start by gathering the key documents and recordings. That can include the offense report, supplemental reports, breath test printouts, machine maintenance and calibration logs, and any available video from the patrol vehicle, body cameras, or station. We study the timeline of your arrest, from the initial stop through the test, to see whether the officer’s report and the video match, and whether the observation period and instructions appear to follow the rules.
Next, we look at how the breath test fits with the rest of the evidence. If the field sobriety tests look weak or the video shows you speaking clearly and moving steadily, that can help undercut a high breath number. If your driving behavior was minor and the only major evidence is the test result itself, then machine and procedural issues become even more important. We may also discuss your medical history, recent meals, medications, and anything unusual you remember about the test process.
These steps matter not only for the criminal case but also for related administrative proceedings. In Texas, you often face an Administrative License Revocation, or ALR, hearing where breath test results can be central. Acting quickly allows us to request that hearing and use it as another opportunity to question the officer and explore breath test issues under oath. Because we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can reach out to us soon after your arrest so we can start protecting your license and building your defense while the details are still fresh.
Why Work With a Former Officer on a College Station Breath Test Case
Many lawyers will say that they know how to challenge breath tests. Fewer have spent years on the other side of the process. Attorney Donnie Andreski’s 20 years as a police officer and detective give our firm a different vantage point on DWI cases in Bryan and College Station. We know how officers are trained, what pressures they are under on the street and at the station, and how those realities can lead to shortcuts that never show up in a report.
That background helps us read DWI files differently. We do not just look at whether a box is checked or a form is filled out. We ask whether the sequence of events makes sense, whether the officer’s narrative fits what we see on video, and whether the breath test machine’s records line up with the story being told. Years of supervising and conducting investigations allow us to spot subtle gaps and inconsistencies that can become powerful tools in cross-examination.
We also understand how prosecutors think about these cases, because we have seen firsthand how law enforcement presents breath test evidence and what arguments they expect from the defense. That helps us anticipate the State’s strategy and prepare to counter it, rather than reacting at the last minute. Combined with our focus on personalized, thorough defense work and our 24/7 accessibility, this gives you a team that is prepared to dig into your breath test instead of treating it as the end of the road.
When you contact The Andreski Law Firm, your first consultation is free. That meeting is a chance for us to review your College Station DWI breath test, talk through what happened during the stop and at the station, and outline the specific issues we see in your case. You do not have to guess whether your breath test can be challenged. You can sit down with a former officer turned defense lawyer and get clear, grounded answers about your options.
Find Out How Strong Your College Station Breath Test Really Is
A breath test number on a College Station DWI report may feel final, but it is not the whole story. The machine that produced it has a history, the officer who ran it had to follow specific steps, and your own body and circumstances shaped that reading. When we bring those facts to light, judges and prosecutors can see that the printout in your file is not as simple or certain as it looks.
If you are facing a DWI charge in Bryan or College Station, you do not have to accept the breath test at face value or navigate the process alone. At The Andreski Law Firm, we use Attorney Andreski’s 20 years in law enforcement and our focused criminal defense practice to examine every angle of your breath test and build a defense strategy that fits your case. Reach out now so we can review your situation, protect your license, and start challenging the evidence against you.
Call (979) 356-3766 to schedule your free consultation.