The Appellate Group

American Fork City v. Barbour

American Fork City v. Barbour, 2026 UT App 107 (Mortensen, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Court of Appeals held:

Counsel performed deficiently by not moving to suppress the breath test evidence in a DUI case because Defendant’s fingernails were placed in his mouth during the Baker pretest observation period. Defendant was prejudiced by counsel’s failure.

Practice tip:

Utah law makes clear that if the subject of a breath test has placed anything into their mouth during the observation period, the administering officer must restart the observation clock.

Read the full court opinion