Police officers building a drunk driving case have to follow certain standards. If they fail to do so, their mistakes can impact the case the prosecutor presents in criminal court. Field sobriety testing is an important part of the average drunk driving traffic stop.
Officers guide drivers through a series of activities to estimate their likely level of impairment. If police officers make mistakes related to field sobriety tests, those mistakes can have a direct influence on the credibility or usefulness of the test results during a criminal trial.
Any of the three mistakes below may help drivers accused of impairment develop a defense strategy.
1. Performing unusual tests
There are three field sobriety tests recognized as the standard for evidence collection. Police officers typically conduct the walk-and-turn test, the one-leg stand test and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.
The decision to conduct different tests can lead to unreliable and unverifiable outcomes. Drivers and the lawyers representing them can raise questions about the credibility of test results if officers do not administer the standard tests according to recognized best practices.
2. Testing in an unrecorded location
There are typically two types of cameras that can capture a driver’s performance on field sobriety tests. The first is the body camera of the police officer. The second is the dashboard camera installed in their cruiser.
If a police officer turns off their body camera and conducts the test in a location where their cruiser does not capture footage, it may be possible to exclude test results from criminal proceedings. Without video footage, the only evidence of the driver’s performance is the police officer’s recollection of events, which is not as objective as video footage.
3. Stopping a driver without justification
The final issue that can lead to the exclusion of field sobriety test results doesn’t occur during the testing but rather before. If a police officer pulls a driver over without reasonable suspicion of a specific traffic violation, then the driver may be able to use that mistake to their advantage. If a police officer conducts an illegal traffic stop, any evidence that they collect is subject to exclusion from criminal proceedings.
Raising questions about the inclusion or accuracy of field sobriety tests can be a viable drunk driving defense strategy. Seeking legal guidance can help motorists as they respond to charges and try to avoid a life-altering criminal conviction.
