Breath-Alcohol Odor
In almost every drunken driving case, police officers will virtually always be prepared to testify that the suspect had some "odor of alcohol" on their breath. Should the police report not indicate a presence of any alcoholic odor, the suspect will most likely be charged with driving under the influence of drugs. Essentially, the presence of alcohol on the suspect's breath is the arresting officer's most vital observation in a drunken driving charge.
Even though it is the most common observation by the interrogating officer, odor on the breath is still considered the most damaging piece of evidence in a DUI case. Unless the defense can explain why the odor was there, or minimize its relevance, the jury will almost always conclude that alcohol on the breath resulted from alcohol in the body which results in a drunk driver.
There are two commonly known ways to attack the alcoholic odor conclusion:
- Question the source of the smell
- Question the final conclusion of intoxication
In reality, alcohol itself has very little or minimal odor. What the interrogating officer smells is the flavor of the drink itself. Beer, wine, vodka, etc. all have distinct smells. These smells can be misleading to the officer with regards to the strength of the drink and the total amount consumed by the suspect. Beer and wine are known to leave the strongest odor on the breath when compared to more powerful alcoholic beverages such as scotch and vodka.
To clarify this even further, non-alcoholic beers are a prime example. Non-alcoholic beers have the nearly identical ingredients as their alcoholic counterparts. They also smell and taste nearly identical as well. It is fully possible for a suspect to have a beer-like odor on their breath from non-alcoholic beer without ever consuming any alcohol.
Since alcohol has no odor, the presence of any alcohol flavoring only tells the officer that alcohol was consumed in the recent past. A smell alone does not indicate how much alcohol was consumed by the suspect. In addition, a correlation between odor and alcohol consumption has yet to be determined. There is also no correlation between odor and alcohol strength.
How Alcohol Works
A discussion on the physical characteristics of alcohol, by Dr. Craig Feudenrich.
Breath-Alcohol Odor
Here you can find information on what the officer looks for during interrogations.