Attacking and defending field sobriety tests and evaluations

• Author: Don Bartell/Mary Catherine McMurray/Anne ImObersteg
• Pages: 231-260

8-1

CHAPTER 8

ATTACKING AND

DEFENDING FIELD

SOBRIETY TESTS AND

EVALUATIONS

I. PREPARATION AND INVESTIGATION

§8:01 Secure the Scene

§8:02 Look for Phone Recordings

§8:03 Check Footwear

§8:04 Find All Witnesses

§8:05 Get the Police Report

§8:06 Get DUI Training Instructions

II. JURY SELECTION

§8:10 Jurors’ Physical Characteristics

§8:11 Ask About Field Tests

§8:12 Jurors With Specialized Training

III. ATTACKING FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS

A. The Legal Standards

§8:20 General Points and Historical Background

§8:21 Daubert & Kumho Tire Admissibility Standards

§8:22 Failure to Comply With NHTSA Criteria

§8:23 Case Law Pertaining To The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test

B. Cross-Examination of the Arresting Off‌icer

1. General Points

§8:30 The First Confrontation

§8:31 Tips for Cross-Examining Police Off‌icers

§8:32 The Phrase “Field Sobriety Tests”

§8:33 The Cross-Contamination Dynamic

ATTACKING & DEFENDING

FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS &

EVALUATIONS

Attacking and Defending Drunk Driving Tests 8-2

ATTACKING & DEFENDING

FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS &

EVALUATIONS

§8:34 The SFST Field Arrest Log

2. Objective Factors

§8:40 Clarify That “Objective Factors” Are Subjective

§8:41 Bloodshot Eyes

§8:42 Odor of Alcohol

§8:43 Slurred Speech

§8:44 Flushed Face

3. Field Sobriety Tests

§8:50 Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

§8:50.1 Sample Destructive HGN Cross-Examination

§8:50.2 In Court Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Checklist

§8:51 The Romberg or Modif‌ied Position of Attention Test

§8:52 One Leg Stand

§8:52.1 In Court One Leg Stand Checklist

§8:53 Walk and Turn

§8:53.1 In Court Walk and Turn Checklist

§8:54 The Alphabet Test

C. Maximizing Prospects of Winning

§8:60 Multi-Layered Approach

§8:61 Checklist for Attacking Non-Chemical Sobriety Tests

IV. DEFENDING FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS

§8:70 Investigate the Scene

§8:71 Promote NHTSA

§8:72 Promote the Off‌icer’s Training

§8:73 Review the Off‌icer’s Instructions

§8:74 Explain Any Second Off‌icer

§8:75 Depersonalize the Case

§8:76 Correlate the Tests to Alcohol Levels

§8:77 Discredit Lay Witnesses

• See Digital Access for the NHTSA DWI Detection & Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Student

Manual (2015).