The field sobriety test is frequently an initial encounter between the law and the driver at the scene of a traffic stop. The test will be used to ascertain whether the individual is drunk or intoxicated with drugs. The most common tests that are applied by the police officers in the United States are the walk-and-turn, the one-leg-stand, and the horizontal gaze nystagmus. Such tests are supposed to be conducted in controlled conditions in a place where the lighting, temperature and weather are all the same. The Atlanta streets are not always ideal, in fact. This paper examines the effect of uneven pavement, headlights, rain, wind and what is referred to in the legal community as a bad testing environment can all play a role in the outcome of the field sobriety test.
The first reason that always occurs is that of uneven pavement. Atlanta streets are laid uneven due to wear and tear or due to constructions. When the driver is instructed to take a straight line in a walk, any single uneven patch will bring about a stumble which can be experienced by a sober individual as well. The officer can interpret such stumble as impairment. The same fact is when the driver has to stand on one leg and balance. The surface is uneven, and the result of this uneven surface is that the weight shifts and appears to have lost its balance or refuse a righting reflex. By doing so, the test may be unjust to a driver who may not necessarily have displayed any impairment.
Another aspect that may complicate a field sobriety test is headlights. During the dark time of the day, a driver might need the Headlights of a patrol car that passes on the road to be able to see the line and the markings on the road. The glare may lead to the problem of having difficulties in estimating the distance, and may pose visual distractions that may disrupt the driver in having a straight line. In the case where the driver has to stare at an object on the ground or a line on the asphalt, the light emitted by the Headlights may create a change in the visual field. When a driver is completely sober, it is hardly easy to ensure that his eyes do not move in and out of focus.
The weather conditions like rain and wind are also relevant. Rainfall may result in a slippery road surface on the road thus a driver may find it difficult to drive steadily. A wet surface also causes less friction between the tires and the road and thus a driver can struggle to stand on one leg of 30 seconds. A good gush of wind can move a person walking straightly or can blow down a person standing on one foot. The slightest rain will make the line on the asphalt less visible, thus resulting in a wrong estimate of the walking pattern of the driver. Wind also poses another challenge of balance to the driver particularly when the driver is requested to hold on a balance on one leg within a short period.
Another problem is also caused by wind. The wind may make a driver lost balance faster than it would happen on calm day. When a driver is required to place one leg on the ground, the weight on the driver can be taken on one side to the other by the wind and this can be construed as an impairment. This effect could also be experienced on the occasions when the driver is forced to maintain his eyes on a point. The wind may make the eyes move or distract the movement of the environment which may be misunderstood by an officer as the evidence of nystagmus.
The third issue that is worrisome to many drivers is the poor testing environment. The current law stipulates that a field sobriety test should be carried out under a safe and realistic setting. This can be due to bad testing environment where the test is conducted on a small street with traffic coming, or a road with high construction. Traffic noise, honks, or even diesel smell may lead to a driver being distracted or stressed out. Bright lights of the streetlights or reflecting surfaces may also distract the visual attention of the driver. In case the driver is subjected to a stressful condition, the test may give false positive results that are not related to the true level of impairment in the driver.
Bad testing environment defense is a defense technique employed by defense attorneys in DUI. The defense claims that the officer did not observe the rules that are used to determine how a field sobriety test is to be administered. As an example, the police officer could have administered the test in an unsafe place with a shallow curb, uneven surface or in a high traffic noise place. The defense can also make the case that the officer failed to give a reasonable explanation of each test or failed to give the driver a satisfactory chance to do the test. In case the officer who has administered the test is discovered to have violated the correct procedure, the judge can rule out the test results in the trial.
One of the high profile cases which the bad testing environment defense was performed in was in the state of Georgia. The vehicle was pulled over in the mid-street where there was a construction pile obstructing the sidewalk. Before the officer was giving the tests, he did not evaluate the safety of the area. Defense claimed that the driver was not safe of being hit by a car or a falling construction object. The judge sided with the defense and did not allow the findings of the field sobriety test to be included in the trial. The driver escaped a possible conviction of DUI and was not obliged to be put in a court of law.
In reality, the defense to a DUI case is frequently made on the premise that the field sobriety test was administered in a manner that rendered it unreliable. An experienced lawyer would examine the place where the stop was conducted, the weather and the traffic conditions to identify any loopholes in the actions of the officer. The officer will also be requested by the defense to explain how each of the tests was performed including the way the test was carried out with the uneven pavement or the strong wind. The inability of the officer to give a consistent and clear explanation can bring down the weight of the test results.
The most prevalent argument prosecutors tend to use in DUI cases is that the test is a good sign of impairment. The prosecutors usually refer to the concept that a sober driver will always succeed in the standard tests. But a sober driver may not pass a field sobriety test due to other reasons other than alcohol or drug use. An example of this is a driver who has some knee injury cannot stand on one leg. The tests can also be a challenge to a driver who is fatigued or has a neurological problem. The driver of a different culture also might not be as able to follow the instructions as a local driver would. It is noteworthy that due to these numerous variables, a defense attorney should review the test conditions.
A defense attorney in Atlanta who handles DUI cases must never ignore the fact that field test differs in circumstances. They will make enquiries on whether the test was conducted on a smooth and level surface or not. They will scrutinize whether the test was conducted in extreme weather by rains or wind. They will examine the test on whether a street with a lot of traffic noise was used to perform the test. They will also consider whether the test was administered in a place where the vision of the driver to the line or the markings was impaired. All these are useable in coming up with a powerful defense.
In case you have been arrested with the charge of DUI in Atlanta city, you require a good lawyer who can deal with the technicalities of field sobriety test. An experienced lawyer should be capable of taking you through the whole process, and pointing out weak points in the evidence presented by the prosecution. The defense will by nearly always commencing to make a record of the place where the stop was made, the weather and the state of the traffic. After such a preliminary review the attorney is then in a position to decide whether he needs to put the defense on the bad testing environment defense or whether the prosecution case has a chance to be brought to trial. To be in control of your rights, an informed lawyer will assist you to appreciate the application of the field sobriety test during prosecution and what you can do to defend against the charges.
Last but not least is to see how the uneven pavement, headlights, rain, wind and a bad testing environment may influence the result of a DUI case it is imperative to go through the field sobriety test guidelines. The guidelines indicate that the officer is supposed to carry out the tests in a secure environment that is not distracting. They also demonstrate how the officer is not supposed to administer the test in a place that may be hazardous to the driver. Breach of the guidelines may give an opportunity to a defense counsel to insist that the test results ought to be suppressed.
Finally, field sobriety test is a significant element of the DUI process. Nevertheless, the test is also a test that is susceptible to environmental influences that can affect its reliability. It may also be affected by the presence of uneven pavement, headlights, rain, wind and bad test environment. In the occurrence that you feel your field sobriety test was conducted under circumstances that were not conducive, then it is advisable to seek the services of an experienced attorney who will assist you in developing an argument which will investigate the actual conditions in the real world in which the test was carried out. The Atlanta DUI Lawyer that doubles as an expert in the field of defending the defendant is usually in a position to assist the driver in overcoming these complicated situations and safeguard their rights.
