DUI Blogs

FIELD SOBRIETY TESTING

The field sobriety tests that you were asked to perform on the side of the road under abnormal conditions were not designed to objectively determine whether you were in fact impaired by alcohol, but rather whether your performance indicated that your blood or breath alcohol level was above the legal limit. Police and prosecutors use them to collect evidence against you. They cannot be passed, as they are adjudged by negative scoring - you get no credit for doing things correctly and you get dinged for doing things incorrectly. You can do a test perfectly but still fail the tests because the officer thought you performed in a "slow deliberate manner."

Police in Orange County, California routinely use field tests that were rejected after exhaustive studies under expensive federal grants. These include:

1. THE ALPHABET TEST;
2. THE FINGER COUNT TEST;
3. COUNTING BACKWARDS;
4. TOUCHING FINGER TO NOSE TEST;
5. MODIFIED BALANCE TEST OR ROMBERG TEST

These Field Sobriety Tests are not scientific or reliable. In almost every case in California, these tests are conducted in a manner which is not approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by Police Officers who do not know how to properly conduct these exercises.

Proper cross examination of the arresting officer can demonstrate that these exercises do not predict impairment for the purposes of driving a motor vehicle.

The scientist hired by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Marceline Burns, has admitted that the field tests do not measure impairment. She has also admitted that they are unreliable unless they are administered in strict compliance with STANDARDIZED TESTING PROCEDURES.

A recent published scientific study evaluated 100 videotapes of police conducting the follow the pen eye test and found that each and every officer performed the test wrong. Cross-examination of police officers with their very own training manuals routinely demonstrates their lack of knowledge and skill.

Experienced DUI Trial Lawyers will file Pre-Trial Motions challenging the use of this unreliable and prejudicial evidence and limiting the ability of the Prosecutor to create an "Aura of Science" or even call them "Tests".

TEN WAYS TO DISCREDIT FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS:

1. Field Sobriety Tests Are Not Scientific
2. The Officer Was Not Properly Trained
3. The Officer Did Not Use Standardized NHTSA Tests
4. The Officer Did Not Properly Instruct You On How To Perform Tests
5. The Officer Did Not Use Objective Standardized Scoring Criteria
6. The Officer Had You Perform The Tests Under Improper Conditions
7. Your Age Or Weight Make You An Improper Candidate For Tests
8. You Have A Physical Disability That Makes You An Improper Candidate For Tests
9. You Have A Psychological Condition That Makes You An Improper Subject For Tests
10. The Officer Lied About Your Performance On The Tests

View Slideshow On Motion to Challenge Field Sobriety Tests