As we reported earlier this year, Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio was convicted in 2016 for driving under the influence. As a condition of her conviction she was required to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet known as a SCRAM continuous alcohol monitoring device. The SCRAM bracelet tests for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is worn on the anklet and can be covered by most pant legs.
Judge Astacio was recently back in court after prosecutor’s alleged that she had a positive reading from her SCRAM bracelet. The reading was consistent with someone who had consumed alcohol according to the prosecutor. The prosecutor also clarified that the positive reading appeared to be the result of someone consuming alcohol and not alcohol simply coming into contact with the device. The judge’s attorneys argued that the violation could have been from a different substance and not from the consumption of alcohol. Technicians will ultimately confirm whether the positive reading was a result of alcohol consumption or another substance. Defendants are required to sign a waiver stating that they will not consume or use substances known to result in positive readings.
SCRAM continuous alcohol monitoring devices are extremely advanced in detecting alcohol consumption vs an outside substance. The readings can show a rising BAC which will indicate when the person started drinking and when they stopped based on how alcohol is being released through their system.