Field Sobriety Tests And Your Dui Attorney

When a police officer stops someone for suspected DUI

, he or she will often ask the driver if they are willing to perform field sobriety tests. The tests given will vary by jurisdiction, but suffice it to say that the NHTSA standardized tests include the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, and one-legged stand. Many times, the officer will also ask the driver to perform non-standardized tests, like saying the alphabet backwards.

But the important thing to take out of this article is not what the field sobriety tests are. It is to know what the field sobriety tests are used for. You cannot "pass" the field sobriety tests, or at least you can't pass in the traditional sense of what a test is used for. Field sobriety tests are simply used to determine whether you can drive safely.

By the way, I am not your attorney. You are not my client. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. If you need a DUI attorney, then call an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.

Field sobriety tests are not the end all, be all of your DUI case. But they are important - and unfair. Why? Because there are so many different things that go into how you perform on the tests. For example, you may be perfectly sober and fail because you are just uncoordinated. Or you may be too tired to concentrate.

In addition to all the variables, these tests are usually performed at night under pressurized circumstances on the side of the road. Even the most sober person in the world will have trouble in this environment.

Finally, how the driver is deemed to have fared on the tests is solely determined by the administering officer. It is completely subjective and will depend on the specific administering officer.

As a DUI attorney, I am happy when a new client tells me that he or she did not take field sobriety tests after being stopped for suspected DUI. This makes my job a little bit easier (of course, there is usually that pesky breath machine to deal with as well), because the field sobriety tests are designed for the driver to fail.

There are two important things to know about field sobriety tests. First, in many jurisdictions, they are OPTIONAL. You can refuse to take them. Granted, you might get arrested but, if you are DUI and you take the tests then you are going to get arrested anyway. All the field sobriety tests do is provide the State with more evidence to use against you.

Second, field sobriety tests are not science! They are not 100% accurate. Even if you take, and allegedly fail, the tests, your DUI attorney can still defend you in your DUI case.

by: Oliver O'Hearn, Perry Purham

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