Field Tests
Garbage in, garbage out. This is an important principle to remember when considering the validity of DUI arrests based on field sobriety test results.
Failing a field sobriety test and a subsequent DUI arrest can be a shock, especially when you are sure you were not intoxicated. Failing a field sobriety test can convince some drivers that they are guilty of driving drunk when they were not. Few Utah drivers understand the haphazard way in which many field sobriety tests are administered and evaluated.
If you were charged with driving under the influence based on a failed field sobriety test, the experienced attorneys at the Ogden, Utah, law offices of Kristopher K. Greenwood & Associates can provide you with the aggressive DUI defense representation you need to stay out of jail and keep a conviction off your record.
The Problem With Unreliable And Nonstandard Field Sobriety Tests
Drivers may not know that there are only three standard field sobriety tests, as follows:
- Horizontal gaze nystagmus or bouncing vision test
- Nine-step walk and turn test
- One leg stand test
This means that if you were arrested for drunk driving on the basis of your inability to recite the alphabet backwards, the arresting officer has almost certainly violated police protocol. The result? You may have a strong case for having all charges dismissed.
Even in cases where the field sobriety test procedures were followed to the letter, there may still be powerful options for challenging the validity of the results:
- Did the officers have reasonable suspicion to stop you?
- Does their claim that you committed a traffic violation or equipment violation hold water?
- Did they have probable cause to arrest you?
- Did they conduct a Portable Breath Test (PBT, a type of breathalyzer test) before the field sobriety test, thus potentially influencing their assessment?
Please call the Ogden law offices of Kristopher K. Greenwood & Associates at (801) 475-8800 today or contact us by e-mail now for a free and completely confidential consultation with a lawyer with a proven record of success in beating drunk driving charges based on unreliable or improper field sobriety tests.