How Do You Know if You Passed a Field Sobriety Test

In most cases when a motorist has been detained for a traffic violation and is suspected of drunk driving, the investigating officer volition request the suspect to perform certain field sobriety tests (FSTs).

What police do not want you to know is that you are not graded on a pass fail footing on these tests. It isimpossible to pass a field sobriety test.

03:26

Beneath our attorney explain how the field sobriety tests (FST's) impact your DUI case.

By clicking on the links below you lot can skip to the department your most interested in reading.

In This Guide We'll Cover:

Purpose of Field Sobriety Tests

The purpose of the field sobriety tests (FSTs) is to provide prove for the prosecutor of your intoxication.

What Are Police Looking For On These Tests?

These are tests of coordination and mental vigil designed to see if the suspect's functioning correlates with certain indicators or signs of impairment due to alcohol or to certain types of drugs.

In improver to testing your physical agility, they exam your ability to follow instructions.  They will give you a series of instructions and if yous miss any of the steps in the procedure, you will be deemed to have "non performed every bit explained and demonstrated."

The officer'south observations of your performance on the FSTs will exist on any constabulary study and testified to at trial if your case proceeds that far as constituting at least circumstantial evidence of your impairment¹.

When Can An Officeholder Request FST's?

An officeholder'south suspicion of intoxicated or impaired driving is usually raised later on having observed your

• Car weaving,
• Travelling erratically, or
• Violating a traffic law

This provides the officer with likely cause to stop you.

Boosted Indications Of Impairment

• The officer detecting an smell of alcohol or marijuana on the your jiff or person when the officer has approached and evaluated you lot in your vehicle.
• slurred speech
• Red Face
• Bloodhsot Eyes
• inappropriate or breathless responses to questions
• Officer noticing a container of booze in the car

You lot may also have responded affirmatively to an officer'southward inquiry every bit to whether you had been drinking.

Under these circumstances, an officer will generally ask you to perform certain tests at the scene.

Are You Legally Required to Submit to FSTs?

Motorists suspected of DUI are not required to submit to whatsoever FST's. Refusal to perform any of these tests volition not event in any criminal or civil penalties since this is not a violation of the land'due south implied consent police force.

What If You Are On Probation Or Under 21?

There is an exception for drivers who are on probation for drunkard driving or if you are under the age of 21. If on probation, a refusal tin issue in revocation of your probation and possible jail time.

If yous are nether 21, your refusal can result in loss of your driver's license. Otherwise, there is no reason for you to agree to perform whatever field sobriety test.

What is The Issue of Conditions Under Which FST's Are Taken?

An officer's determination that a suspect is nether the influence of alcohol or drugs bases on FSTs, whether standardized or not, are largely subjective.

Ane of the factors that largely affects a suspect's performance on an FST is the weather nether which the test is administered.

Studies that indicate how reliable FSTs are in detecting harm or a suspect's BAC of at least 0.08% are conducted under laboratory settings.

The "suspects" know that they are not subject to arrest, imprisonment, or loss of driving privileges.

A true suspect who agrees to perform any of these tests is understandably anxious and under extreme pressure.

Well-nigh people under such weather condition will be sweating profusely, accept a racing heartbeat, and exist worrying about the consequences of not adequately performing on these tests.

Under these conditions, nearly individuals would have trouble concentrating on the numerous instructions beingness given to them so following them correctly, whether they have alcohol to beverage or not.

Existent-life conditions are difficult to duplicate in any laboratory setting and tin can accept a profound effect on how a person performs.

Also, these studies are not conducted under real-life conditions on the open roadway.

Weather and other conditions at the site of the traffic stop that can impact performance and lead an investigating officeholder to conclude that certain signs or clues of impairment are being exhibited include:

• Performing FSTs on uneven surfaces
• Windy conditions or possible precipitation
• Rush of traffic with brilliant lights, horns, and other traffic sounds
• Shoes that may not be conducive to walking in a directly line or standing straight

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests

Standardized tests have the bankroll and back up of the scientific customs as to its reliability, at least to some extent.

It besides ways that the officers who administer these tests must do so according to a published or established protocol or their validity will be attacked.

Why You lot Should Politely Decline To Take The FST's

California courts allow an officeholder to testify that a accused's poor performance on a standardized FST indicates a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of at least 0.08% or higher, though this is not a mandatory presumption².

What are the 3 standardized field sobriety tests that are accepted as reliable indicators of harm?

• Horizontal gaze nystagmus
• Walk-and-turn
• One-leg stand

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

The HGN Examination

One standard test and commonly used FST used by many officers is the HGN or horizontal gaze nystagmus test.

Information technology is considered one of the more than reliable indicators of intoxication and an officer may show as to his or her observations equally indicating that the suspect was under the influence and then long as a proper foundation is established past the prosecution³.

What Does The HGN Test Consist of?

The exam generally consists of the officer belongings a pencil, penlight or other object known as a stimulus in front end of your optics and asking you lot to track it as he or she moves it from side to side.

The officer is looking for the bending at which your student starts jerking involuntarily (nystagmus). If the jerking occurs at or before a 45 degree angle, it is supposed to be an indication of a BAC of at least 0.10%.

The officer who administered the test and observed this phenomenon may testify that this is evidence the suspect'due south BAC is at least 0.10%, though he or she may not requite a quantitative number^iv.

According to this test, the more than intoxicated you are, the sooner your eyes will begin to jerk every bit your pupils motility from side to side.

Walk & Turn Test

What Are The Requirements Of The Walk And Turn Test?

This particular exam requires you to accept 9 steps while walking heel-to-toe in a straight line.

Later the ninth step, you are instructed to pivot on 1 foot and return in the same manner to your starting position.

The officer administering the exam is outset supposed to demonstrate the test.

The test has viii indicators of possible impairment that an officer is to be observing:

• Did y'all maintain your balance while listening to the officer'due south instructions
• Y'all began walking before the officeholder has finished giving you the instructions
• Whether you stopped at any time to regain your balance
• You failed to touch your heels while walking
• You stepped off the line
• You lot used your arms to maintain residuum
• You lot lost your remainder while turning
• You lot took more than or less than ix steps

Should you exhibit at least 2 of these indicators, the officer will conclude that you are impaired.

The Walk-and-Turn test is a examination of divided attention, designed to see if y'all can simultaneously mind to and follow the instructions given. This tests both your mental and physical capabilities.

One Leg Stand up

In this FST, an officer will instruct yous to stand with 1 foot about 6 inches off the ground and to count in thousands–yard 1, one thousand two then forth until your reach xxx or the officer advises you to stop.

While standing, you are supposed to focus on your raised foot and to keep y'all arms and hands past your sides. The officer is to personally demonstrate how the test is performed.

This is another divided attention exam where an officeholder observes your ability to follow the instructions given and to perform them without losing your balance or performing some other movement that was non office of the officeholder'south instructions.

Similar to the HGN exam, the officeholder is required to look for four possible clues of impairment:

• You swayed side to side or back and along while on ane foot
• You used your arms for balance
• You hopped
• Yous were unable to go along your foot upwards–if at least 3 times, then this is a failure

How Accurate Are Field Sobriety Tests For Drugs?

Field sobriety tests are used to determine impairment based on alcohol consumption and not necessarily on the ingestion or administration of controlled substances or prescription medication that can lead to impairment.

A 2013 study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Corruption of the three standardized field sobriety tests revealed that they do have validity when officers administering the tests suspect that a motorist is under the influence of a drug.

Withal, these tests are non so reliable when it comes to classifying the suspected drug.

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

Regarding the HGN (gaze nystagmus), users of CNS depressants (sleeping pills, tranquilizers, barbiturates, quaaludes) were found to more probable exhibit distinct nystagmus at maximum departure than non-drug users. Researchers institute that 88% of of persons who exhibited 4 or more clues had a BAC of at least 0.08%.

The breakdown for correctly classifying a drug was

• 94.vi% for CNS stimulants (methamphetamines, cocaine, Ecstasy),
• 70.1% for CNS depressants,
• 0% for narcotic analgesics, and
• ane% for cannabis.

One Leg Stand

On the OLS, or ane-leg stand test, virtually 83% of those who exhibited at least 2 of the 4 clues of intoxication were tested at 0.08% or college.

If based on the 4 clues, but 43.vi% of cases correctly classified drugs with CNS stimulants at 59.nine%, cannabis at 55.4% , and narcotic analgesics at 10.6%. No CNS depressants were correctly classified.

Walk & Turn

For the WAT test, or walk and turn test, in that location were eight signs of impairment. Researchers concluded that 79% of those who exhibited at to the lowest degree 2 signs of damage had a BAC of at to the lowest degree 0.08%.

However, the classification for

• CNS stimulants was correctly estimated at 72.ii%
• Cannabis at 39.vii%,
• CNS depressants at 9%, and
• Narcotic analgesics at iii.5%.

Researchers on the Canadian study still felt that the results showed that CNS stimulants and depressants, narcotic analgesics, and cannabis were associated with impairment on the 3 standardized FSTs. Cannabis affected performance on only the OLS examination and not on the HGN and WAT.

Additional Field Sobriety Testing Data

• California Highway Patrol Drug Recognition Evaluator Test
• Romberg Residual Examination
• SFST Justice Dept

1. Coffey v. Shiomoto (2015) 60 Cal.4th 1198 [↩]
2. People v. Roder (1983) 33 Cal.3d 491, 497-505 [↩]
3. California 5. Joehnk (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 1488, 1493 [↩]
4. California v. Loomis (1984) 156 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 5-6 [↩]

Ms. Aizman is the founding attorney at Aizman Police Firm, an award winning criminal defense attorney & former prosecutor for the city of Los Angeles. She regularly appears on CNN, Fox News, HLN & CBS News to provide legal insight on various legal topics. She is a proud member of the California Attorneys For Criminal Justice, California DUI Lawyers Association & the National College of DUI Defence

goodridgecomang.blogspot.com

Source: https://aizmanlaw.com/field-sobriety-testing-in-california/

Share this post