Gainesville Field Sobriety Tests Attorneys
When you get your driver’s license, you provide implied consent to submit to certain tests if you are pulled over for suspected drunk driving. The only tests you are required to submit to are chemical tests, such as breath, urine, or blood tests. You are not required to submit to field sobriety tests, which are physical roadside tests. If you submitted to this type of testing and the results are now being used against you, a Gainesville field sobriety tests attorney can challenge the results as part of your defense.
Our Attorney Looks at Field Sobriety Tests
Field sobriety tests include a variety of testing strategies that are designed to determine if you are driving under the influence. Although some of these tests have very scientific-sounding names, such as the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, they are not scientific at all. It is impossible to score a field sobriety test objectively, and the decision on whether or not you passed is entirely up to the officer.
Field sobriety tests are often used by police officers to give them probable cause. Before they can make an arrest, they must have probable cause that you are impaired. Due to the fact that these tests are highly subjective and an officer can determine on their own that you failed, these tests are usually used to give the officer probable cause so they can proceed with the arrest.
Our Attorney Can Challenge the Three Main Field Sobriety Tests
There are three main field sobriety tests police officers use and at a DUI stop, you may be asked to complete any one, or more, of them. The three tests are as follows:
- Horizontal gaze nystagmus: The officer will use the beam of a flashlight, a pen, or their finger and ask you to follow it with your eyes and they move it back and forth. During the test, the officer will observe you to determine if you jerk or involuntarily move your eyes as they follow the item used. While nystagmus can be due to the influence of alcohol, it can also be caused by disease and naturally occurs in certain people.
- One leg stand: In this test, the officer will ask you to stand with one foot off the ground, usually about six inches from the surface. You will have to slowly count until the officer tells you to stop, usually for approximately 30 seconds. This is a test of balance and concentration and it is difficult, even for sober individuals to complete.
- Walk and turn: During this test, the officer will instruct you to walk heel-to-toe for a certain number of steps. They are looking to check your balance, as well as your ability to remember the number of steps instructed. Making a misstep during this test is easy, as you are likely to be very nervous and conditions such as an uneven surface can make it difficult.
Call Our Gainesville Field Sobriety Tests Attorney Today
If you were arrested after submitting to roadside testing, our Gainesville field sobriety tests attorney at Meldon Law can challenge the results as part of your defense to give you the best chance of beating the charges. Call us today or contact us online to schedule a free case review.
