Standardized Field Sobriety Testing in an Orange County DUI case
Many people, including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and other attorneys are under the impression that field sobriety tests do accurately reflect whether or not a driver is intoxicated; however, this simply is not the case. With the exception of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, none of these tests have ever been found in any way to be 100% reliable in determining a driver’s intoxication. The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests are certain tests that are supposed to be administered and evaluated in a “standardized” manner as set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Our Orange County DUI Lawyers are NHTSA-trained to administer the field sobriety tests the same as the officers and highway patrol. The three Standardized Field Sobriety Tests are:
The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test – In this test, drivers are asked to watch a slowly moving object such as a flashlight or a pen while the administering police officer moves the object back and forth. The police officer is supposed to look to see if the driver’s eyes follow the object and at what angle jerking of the eye occurs. The HGN test is supposed to indicate when individuals are intoxicated by when ‘nystagmus’ occurs. Under normal circumstances, nystagmus occurs when the eyes are rotated at high peripheral angles. However, when a driver is intoxicated, nystagmus is exaggerated and may occur at lesser angles. An intoxicated driver will also often have difficulty smoothly tracking a moving object.
The One-Leg Stand Test – In this test, drivers are instructed to stand on one leg while the other foot is suspended about 6 inches off the ground, followed by their counting aloud by the thousands (“one-thousand and one, one-thousand and two,” etc.) until instructed by the administering police officer to put the suspended foot down about 30 seconds later. The police officer is supposed to look for signs of impairment that include swaying while balancing, not counting in order, using arms to balance, and/or hopping to maintain balance. The problem with this particular test is that many sober people are unable to perform it without swaying or using their arms to balance.
The Walk and Turn Test – In this test, drivers are asked to take nine steps, walking heel-to-toe along a straight line with their arms at their sides and counting aloud. After taking these steps, the drivers are then asked to turn on one foot and return walking back in the same manner. There are seven indicators that the administering police officer is supposed to look for while standing approximately three to four feet away -- (1) losing one’s balance while listening to instructions, (2) stopping to regain balance during the test, (3) starting the test before instructions are fully given, (4) using one’s arms to balance, (5) not walking heel-to-toe, (6) taking an incorrect number of steps, and (7) losing one’s balance while turning. In many instances, if drivers have any kind of balance or foot problems, they, even when sober, will not be able to perform this test without having to do one of the seven indicators.
The Standardized Field Sobriety tests were developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These tests are supposed to be administered systematically and evaluated accordingly. Formal training is supposed to be given to officers who are to administer these tests in the field. However, in a number of instances, it has been found that the administering officer lacked proper training.
These three standardized tests are referred to as “divided-attention tests” because they require the subject to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. The driver’s attention is divided between mental and physical tasks. They require a suspect to listen to and follow instructions while performing simple physical movements. Often, intoxicated individuals will have difficulty with performing tasks that require their attention to be divided between simple mental and physical exercises. However, even among scientific experts, there exists much controversy as to the reliability of these tests and whether or not they are “scientific” measurements. Throughout the world, many credible scientists are indisposed to classify field sobriety tests (even these standardized tests) as being “scientific” and reliable because there are too many variables involved that can cause an inaccurate result.
Inaccuracy of Field Sobriety Tests in OC Drunk Driving Offenses
Field sobriety tests are highly subjective and the determination as to whether or not a driver passes or fails is made by the administering officer. Furthermore, it has been found in a number of cases that drivers who supposedly “performed badly,” did so because of other reasons. For instance, because of physical coordination problems, age, health, one’s natural sense of balance, and medications that the driver may have taken. In addition, road and weather conditions can have a great affect on how one performs on these tests. Our Orange County DUI Attorneys know the law and have been trained in Field Sobriety Testing. We will fight hard to examine inaccuracies in the field sobriety tests performed on you.
Prosecutors often will argue that a suspected DUI offender’s failure to perform accurately on field sobriety tests conclusively reflects that the DUI offender was in fact intoxicated and should not have been driving. However, even NHTSA has admitted that even under the best of circumstances, only about 65% of drivers who exhibit two or more signs of intoxication have a blood-alcohol content level of .10% or greater.
If you submitted to field sobriety testing prior to your Orange County DUI arrest, it is important that you let your Orange County DUI lawyer know exactly where the testing took place, how the testing was administered, and exactly who administered the testing. Oftentimes, our Orange County DUI lawyers will be able to get the test results thrown out.
We offer free Orange County DUI case reviews; contact us today for yours!