Failure to check a box on the breathalyzer checklist does not void an otherwise properly administered breathalyzer test.  In State v. White, the defendant appealed a conviction which found him guilty of driving while intoxicated, arguing that the breathalyzer test was not done in accordance with official procedures under Romano v. Kimmelman, 96 N.J. 66, 82 (1984), and State v. Johnson, 42 N.J. 146, 171 (1964). 

            The police officer performed two breathalyzer tests on defendant.  In each, the officer completed each of the fifteen steps indicated on the breathalyzer checklist, and checked the box next to each of the steps.  However, the officer did not check box number fourteen which tells the officer to record the breath test result on the upper right-hand side of the form.  Although the officer wrote the test result in the appropriate place, he inadvertently failed to check the box. 

            The Appellate Court found that the officer’s failure to check box fourteen was “of no consequence to the outcome because the breathalyzer reading was properly recorded on the form.”  New Jersey’s regulation states that “[t]he sole purpose of a checklist is to provide a record of the taking of breath samples of a person.” N.J.A.C. 13:51-3.6(a)(2).  Therefore, the proper administration of the test and the completion of the form, aside from checking box fourteen, satisfied the Romano requirement for the test to be performed in accordance with official procedures.