Regarding Field Sobriety Tests

DWI Attorney in Houston

A law enforcement officer may suspect you are driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This suspicion can lead to you being pulled over and directed to take a series of tests designed to show the officer that you are intoxicated. The test results can bring about an arrest for DWI triggering a civil hearing to suspend your license and a criminal case against you.

The tests that are given consist of:

• One-Leg Stand (OLS) is a test in which a person is directed to stand with one foot off the ground for a specified period of time. Using your arms to maintain balance, hopping or placing the raised foot on the ground can result in a failed test.
• The Walk and Turn (WAT) test requires the individual to walk heel to toe in a straight line, then turn on one foot and return in the same fashion. Walking off an arbitrary straight line, losing one's balance or not putting the heel to the toe may be considered a sign the person is intoxicated.
• HGN or Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus tests reaction of the eyes to a moving object, usually a penlight. While other tests are videotaped, the HGN isn't and no one is able to see what the police viewed while doing the test.

If you have been arrested for a DWI offense based on field sobriety tests, use of an experienced Houston DWI lawyer may provide the defense you need to disprove law enforcement's case.

How reliable are these tests?

As touched upon above, field sobriety tests can be very subjective, relying on what a police officer felt he observed. They were developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) decades ago and even they admit the tests are not wholly reliable. These tests can be failed by persons who are not intoxicated and they shouldn't have to pay for it.

Ned Barnett is a NHTSA certified practitioner in standard field sobriety tests. This knowledge can be used to your advantage with aggressive challenges to these tests and how they were administered. Don't be convicted of a DWI charge based on inconclusive or faulty "evidence".

Immediately contact a DWI attorney in Houston if "failed" field sobriety tests have led to your arrest on any DWI charge.