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Important Changes Announced For Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Field Sobriety Tests
Important Changes Announced For Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Field Sobriety Tests
Just because a driver failed in a field sobriety test administered by an officer charging him with DUI, doesn’t mean that the case is hopeless.
Bardstown,
KY,
United States of America
(sardnews.org)
05/11/2011
Just because a driver failed in a field sobriety test administered by an officer charging him with DUI, doesn’t mean that the case is hopeless. Having an experienced DUI lawyer can quickly reverse or in the least mitigate the offense by pointing out technicalities in these field sobriety tests. But first, what are the common field sobriety tests and what are the technicalities that can be singled out and used by a DUI lawyer in defense of his client?
Standing up and balancing on one leg for at least 30 seconds, Heel to Toe (nine steps), Horizontal and/or Vertical Gaze Nystagmus – these are the three common sobriety tests that an officer might ask a driver to perform. An experienced DUI lawyer might challenge the legality of the officer stopping the accused. A DUI lawyer might also ask the officer if he or she followed the proper and legal procedure when he or she stopped the driver.
Blood alcohol level testing through an intoximeter or breathalyzer – an accused driver is asked to blow into the testing equipment to determine the alcohol level in his or her system. There are many questions that a DUI lawyer in defense of the accused driver might ask. Is the officer trained and certified in the usage of the testing equipment? Did he or she misread the results? Did the officer record the correct result? Is the testing equipment in proper working condition, or is it impaired in any way causing to produce inaccurate reading? Was the accused continuously observed for at least 20 minutes before being administered the test? An expert DUI lawyer will know where to probe and look for loopholes to aid his defense of his client.
Chemical Tests – the accused is asked to give samples of blood and/or urine to determine concentration of the prohibited substances. These tests should be administered by a trained hospital personnel. Again, the DUI lawyer can probe for loopholes to strengthen the defense of his client. Was the test properly administered? Was it administered by a certified and trained hospital personnel? Are the samples properly taken and carefully stored, away from various factors that might render it invalid for proper testing?
These are just some general questions that a skilled DUI lawyer might use for preliminaries. If any of these points prove valid for challenging the tests and its results, the defense already looks promising and not hopeless as some accused drivers would think when they look into a testing equipment and see the results reading positive.
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