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Los Angeles SCRAM Device Attorneys

SCRAM Device

As technology evolves, many facets of modern society are using new and improved ways to conduct business, perform tasks, and monitor progress. In the courts, new technology has improved record keeping, access to information, and even surveillance. Before recent advances in technology, keeping tabs on a convicted DUI offender and their compliance with court orders was a more arduous process, but now, with technologies such as the SCRAM device, enforcing court orders and probation requirements have become easier, but not foolproof.

Continuous Trans-dermal Alcohol Monitoring with SCRAM

As a way of monitoring a DUI offender's compliance with a court order, a judge may order that the offender wear a tamper-resistant "Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor," or SCRAM, which is a 6.5 to 8 ounce electronic device worn around the ankle that approximates blood alcohol content by measuring the amount of alcohol in the DUI offender's perspiration. The SCRAM device, created by Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS), does this at least once per hour and remotely transmits the results to a regional monitoring center. The center then reports results to the court.

SCRAM Court Order

In California DUI cases, judges typically order an offender to wear a SCRAM device if he or she is a repeat offender and has prior DUI convictions on his or her record. Any offender that a judge believes has a serious alcohol abuse problem may be required to wear the device, however.

• Time Requirement - The length of time during which a DUI offender must wear the SCRAM device varies and is usually dependant on the severity of the charges, but the minimum time period is usually 30 days. The maximum compliance requirement can surpass one year.
• Tampering - Although the SCRAM is tamper-resistant, it may still be removed and meddled with. However, any tampering or removal actions will alert the regional monitoring center, which will notify the court. Subsequently, the DUI offender's probation may be violated and resentenced with harsher consequences.

Problems with SCRAM

According to the device's inventor, SCRAM was not designed as a quantitative analytical device and there are many factors that cannot be controlled. Despite its popular use as a trans-dermal alcohol testing device, studies have not confirmed the validity of the diffusion of alcohol through the skin. In fact, because the technology has been shown to be non-specific to the type of alcohol measured, it is possible to trigger a false positive when the wearer has not consumed any alcoholic beverages. Body alcohol, such as the acetone produced during the breakdown of fats, could also trigger a false positive. A number of other conditions and even types of food may result in SCRAM reporting a positive alcohol content, which can send the offender back to court and even jail.

Fighting False SCRAM Readings

One of the downsides to using technology is that it can alter the reality of a situation. A SCRAM device that sends multiple "false" positive alcohol readings to the regional monitoring center cannot be easily double-checked and can have devastating consequences for the wearer. At Takakjian & Sitkoff, our experienced Los Angeles SCRAM device lawyers have a thorough knowledge of SCRAM technology and will help protect your legal rights. Don't let a piece of technology decide whether or not you deserve harsher penalties. Contact our criminal defense attorneys immediately at 888-579-4844. With experience as former DUI prosecutors and advisors to local law enforcement officials on the adequate procedures for DUI arrests and prosecution, we know what it takes to build a strong defense on your behalf.

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