The Field Sobriety Test: Know Your Rights

Our Los Angeles DUI attorneys also have offices Orange County. We handle criminal defense matters in coastal cities and town in Southern California. We are often asked by drivers arrested for DUI about the field sobriety, including DUI breath tests, all the time. Choosing the right Los Angeles DUI lawyers is just as hard as choosing good OC DUI defenders.

The truth is the field sobriety test was not meant to make you into a circus performer doing balancing tricks in unsafe conditions on the side of the road. What you didn’t know is that there is no way to pass the test. The field sobriety test is a tool used by police and prosecutors as an evidence collection tool to be used against you in court. Even if you follow all of the directions perfectly, you can still fail.

If you are pulled over for DUI in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Hermosa Bach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Marina del Rey, or Santa Ana, you will be given a field test using exercises that the federal government rejected. We all know the exercises: recite the alphabet, count on your fingers, countdown backwards, put your head back and touch your nose, stand on one leg and tilt your head back, and close your eyes and count to 30.

All of these exercises, if administered incorrectly, will not help the police determine if you’re under the influence. Police in Orange County are using Field Sobriety Tests that are unreliable and not based in science. The same goes for LA cities like Redondo Beach. Most agencies conduct the tests in unsafe areas and in a way that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does not approve. Most officers don’t know the correct way to administer the test.

The Orange County DUI Defenders will make sure to cross-examine the officer who arrested you to bring out these facts. We will show that the field sobriety test does not predict or indicate intoxication or impairment due to alcohol.
Scientists with the NHTSA determined that the field sobriety tests do not determine alcohol impairment. They have gone so far as to say that unless the tests are given strictly according to standard testing procedures, they are unreliable to determine alcohol impairment.

Another favorite field test, the “eye-bounce test,” (where the suspect is asked to follow a pen with his or her eyes from side to side)has been found to be one of the most unreliable tests given. This is probably due to the fact most police officers perform the test incorrectly. Again, this is brought out through the testimony of the officer during cross-exam using information from the manuals used for their training.

The attorneys at the Orange County DUI Defenders are experienced in fighting the results of these unreliable tests. Don’t think that just because the police gave the test that it’s automatically valid. The prosecutor may try to make it seem authoritative because they are “tests.” We will do our best to discredit this “junk science” and defend your rights.

Call us today at 1-888-400-9721 for a free case evaluation. If your test was improperly administered, we will help you fight your arrest. If you were hurt in the DUI, you may also want to speak with our OC and Los Angeles personal injury attorneys as well.