D.C. Councilman Questions Testimony From DUI Hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A D.C. Councilman is challenging the accuracy of the testimony given by a deputy attorney general on the prosecution of drunken driving cases.

At-Large Councilman Phil Mendelson asked Deputy Attorney General Robert Hildum in a letter to clarify remarks made at a hearing Monday.

He said he doubts that the prosecution of suspected drunken drivers has been unaffected by the lack of reliable breath-testing machines.

The office no longer uses breath scores to prosecute cases after inaccurately calibrated machines called into question hundreds of convictions.

The attorney general's office says from last March to last September, drivers in 11 cases who were given the breath tests chose to plead guilty rather than go to trial. The office says there was no evidence of innocence in those cases.

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