Fort Lauderdale FSE Coerced Consent Attorney
If you are pulled over for a suspected DUI in Fort Lauderdale, the police officer may ask you to perform field sobriety exercises (FSEs). Unlike chemical tests, such as the breathalyzer, you are not legally required by law to perform these FSEs in most cases. If you do, the officer will likely use the results against you in court, which could help the prosecution secure a conviction against you. If you have been charged with a DUI after performing field sobriety tests, our Fort Lauderdale FSE coerced consent attorney can help you fight the charges.
What is Coerced Consent to Perform FSEs?
Again, FSEs in Fort Lauderdale are voluntary. Under most circumstances, you cannot be forced to perform them. Unfortunately, police officers know that FSEs are highly subjective, and that if you would perform them, it would provide them with probable cause to make an arrest. Many law enforcement officers are also aware that drivers are not always aware of their rights.
Using this information to their advantage, police officers will often try to coerce drivers into performing field sobriety tests. They may threaten the driver with an arrest, or may even tell them they will go to jail for non-compliance, even when that is not the case. This is coercion and it is against the law. Police officers are not allowed to use these tactics when pulling drivers over or asking them to perform the tests. When they use these strategies anyway, it can actually help your case.
Evidence is Inadmissible After Coerced Consent to Perform FSEs
Any time a police officer does not comply with the law when obtaining evidence, that evidence is then considered inadmissible in court. For example, if an officer did not have reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle, any evidence they obtained as a result of that search will be thrown out of court. The same is true with field sobriety exercises results, as well.
Police officers often use FSEs to give them probable cause to make an arrest. Law enforcement must have probable cause before arresting someone. If you were coerced into performing the FSEs, the results can be thrown out, which may also mean that everything that occurred during and after the arrest is also inadmissible. It is not uncommon for the entire case to be dismissed when the police officer coerced a driver into performing the field sobriety exercises.
Our Fort Lauderdale FSE Coerced Consent Attorneys Will Uphold Your Rights
If you were coerced into performing field sobriety tests, and the results are now being used against you in your criminal case, our Fort Lauderdale coerced consent to perform FSEs attorney at Meldon Law can help. Our skilled attorneys know how to prove you were coerced into performing the FSEs and will use that proof to get valuable evidence against you thrown out of court. Call us today at 800-373-8000 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.
