Admissibility of Field Sobriety Test Results to Prove Impairment

In the event you are the subject of a DUI investigation

, it is likely that the police officer you pulled you over will undergo a battery of testing to determine whether you are impaired. These tests, known as field sobriety tests, include the one-legged stand test, the horizonal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn test, the finger to nose test, and the alphabet test. Field sobriety tests were developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a means of predicting impairment in a standardized and scientifically reliable way.If you have been arrested for a DUI and charged, a big issue in your case is whether your field sobriety tests can be used against you by the State to provide your impairment. Your defense attorney will need to closely analyze the facts surrounding your investigation and arrest because how the police officer approached you and administered the field sobriety tests will answer this question.Generally, under Florida law, the results of these tests are admissible evidence to prove a defendant was driving under the influence, and specifically, to prove the defendant was impaired. However, there are various objections your defense attorney may be able to raise to having the field sobriety test results admitted as evidence, depending on the unique facts of your case.Florida law dictates that, unless the suspect voluntarily consents to undergoing field sobriety testing, a law enforcement officer must possess reasonable suspcicion that an individual is under the influence prior to administering field sobriety tests. Although an officer is generally not required to inform a motorist of his or her right to refuse to perform the field sobriety exercises, other privacy protections under the Fourth Amendment may come into play, depending on how the vehicle and defendant were originally stopped and detained. These can include a court challenge in the form of a motion to suppress the stop of the vehicle or a motion to suppress the evidence due to unlawful detainment or lack of reasonable suspicion of a DUI. Your defense attorney may also be able to argue that the investigating officer lacked the requisite training and qualifications to perform the investigation in a motion to suppress.Once your field sobriety test results are considered to be admissible evidence, it is still an open question whether they will convince a jury of guilt. Although field sobriety tests are often thought of as scientifically sound, there are numerous challenges to their reliability that a skilled DUI defense attorney can use to cast doubt on the reliability of their field sobriety test results.

Admissibility of Field Sobriety Test Results to Prove Impairment

By: Ryan P. Rooth

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