Police officers are trained to administer standard field sobriety tests when they believe someone is Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Police officers are required to follow specific procedures when administering field sobriety tests. If the officer deviates from the accepted protocols, even slightly, the results of that test could be invalid and thrown out.
The criminal defense attorneys at the Noll Law Office have extensively studied and analyzed field sobriety tests in order to challenge the results to the benefit of our clients. When all is said and done, the standard field sobriety tests are subjective and are simply the officer’s opinion of how you did.
THREE COMMON FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS:
Walk and Turn Field SobrietyTest
When officers administer the walk and turn test, they are look for 8 clues (indicators of intoxication). According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the Walk and Turn field sobriety test is only 68% accurate in determining whether a DUI suspect has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher. Sometimes, officers improperly administer this field sobriety test or improperly evaluate how the DUI suspect perform causing a greater amount of uncertainty regarding the validity of the test.
One Leg Stand Field Sobriety Test
The One-Leg Stand is a standard field sobriety test which has the least reliability of determining intoxication. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the One-Leg Stand field sobriety test is only 65% accurate in determining whether a person arrested for DUI had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher.
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Field Sobriety Test
According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Field Sobriety Test is 77% reliable in determining whether a person suspected of Driving Under the Influence has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher. However, this is also the test which is frequently administered improperly by police officers.
CONTACT OUR DUI DEFENSE LAWYERS IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
The DUI Defense lawyers at the Noll Law Office are trained and experienced in challenging the standard field sobriety tests in court. Contact our Driving Under the Influence attorneys at (217) 414-8889 for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.
NOLL LAW OFFICE RESULTS:
People v. M.W. (2012)
M.W. was charged with DUI. Our office was able to convince the prosecutor that the field sobriety tests were improperly administered. All charges were dismissed and M.W.’s license was never suspended.
People v. N.M. (2012)
N.M. was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. It was his second offense so he was looking at a 3 year suspension of his driver’s license and jail time. Our office forced the state to concede that there was no reasonable articulable suspicion to believe that N.M. was under the influence of alcohol. The case was dismissed and he kept his driving privileges.
