Challenging Field Sobriety Tests in a New Jersey DWI Case

New Jersey has some of the strictest drunk driving laws in the country. If you are convicted of DWI in New Jersey, you face harsh penalties that include substantial fines, potential loss of your driver’s license, and possible jail time. To defend against a New Jersey DWI charge and give yourself the best chance of success, you need an experienced DWI defense attorney who knows New Jersey drunk driving law inside and out, can aggressively challenge the evidence, and will fight for optimal results in your case.

What Field Sobriety Tests Do Police Officers Use in New Jersey?

New Jersey law allows police officers to testify about a defendant’s appearance and behavior in a drunk driving case. To gather evidence in support of a DWI charge, New Jersey police officers routinely ask drunk driving suspects to perform Field Sobriety Tests (“FSTs”), which supposedly demonstrate impairment. These tests are usually performed on the side of the road, shortly after a driver has been pulled over. Unlike a breath test, which drivers are required to take under New Jersey law, submitting to the FSTs is NOT MANDATORY!. YOU CAN REFUSE TO PERFORM FSTs. If you were arrested and charged with DWI, you may be able to challenge the admissibility of the FST results.

Approved Field Sobriety Tests

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified three standardized tests it considers accurate indicators of whether a driver is under the influence:

• The one-leg stand is intended to check balance and motor coordination. The suspect is asked to stand straight, with arms at their side, and stand with one leg about six inches off the ground for 30 seconds.
• The horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test allegedly tests for exaggerated, involuntary, or jerky movements of the eye that can allegedly be caused by the consumption of alcohol. The officer will hold a pen or other object in front of the suspect’s face and ask them to follow the object with their eyes without moving their head.
• In the walk and turn test, a suspect is asked to walk a straight line, heel-to-toe, for nine steps, then turn around and return to the starting point without falling over or losing their balance.

Unapproved Field Sobriety Tests

Police officers often ask DWI suspects to perform other, unapproved roadside tests such as:

• Touching your finger to your nose while only bending your elbows
• Counting or reciting the alphabet backwards
• Touching each finger on your hand to your thumb while counting aloud

While some police officers use these non-standardized tests to try to assess a driver’s impairment, no NHTSA research indicates they are reliable indicators of intoxication.

Challenging Field Sobriety Tests in a DWI Case

If you were charged with DWI in New Jersey and were asked to perform field sobriety tests, you may be able to challenge their admissibility on several grounds.

Lack of Scientific Reliability

While New Jersey police officers claim to use FSTs to evaluate whether a driver can safely operate a vehicle, the tests are not an accurate way to determine whether a person is intoxicated. An experienced DWI defense attorney can identify these shortcomings and use them to challenge the officer’s opinion about whether a driver was intoxicated based on the driver’s performance on the FSTs.

Roadside Conditions

FSTs are commonly performed at the side of the road under less than ideal conditions. A suspect could experience difficulty performing the tasks as requested because the road surface was not level, road debris was present, or they were distracted by oncoming traffic.

Driver Limitations

Before asking a suspect to perform FSTs, the officer should ask about any physical limitations, such as neck, back, leg, knee, or foot injuries, or a head injury that could affect the driver’s balance.

Unclear Instructions

According to the NHTSA, all FSTs should be administered in the same way. But in practice, each officer conducts the tests slightly differently. This inconsistency could be caused by inadequate training or because officers forget the specific testing procedures.

Lighting Conditions

Lighting conditions cause a suspect to perform poorly on FSTs and can also affect the officer’s ability to accurately observe the suspect’s performance.

Weather Conditions

Rain, snow, and ice can all affect a suspect’s performance on the FSTs.

A Skilled Defense Attorney Can Challenge Field Sobriety Tests in a DWI Case

If your DWI defense attorney can persuade the court that the results of the FSTs are unreliable, they should not be admissible as evidence. Excluding FST results could eliminate the probable cause element required to place a suspect under arrest.

Furthermore, a suspect’s performance on the FSTs is not conclusive of whether they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The test results must be considered together with other evidence, and there are many reasons to scrutinize an officer’s judgment. Newly certified officers may be eager to identify problems in how a suspect performs, while veteran police officers might perceive the FSTs as a pro forma step towards a DWI charge and may not carefully follow the FST requirements.

Charged with a New Jersey DWI? Contact Iannelli Law Today.

A New Jersey DWI is a serious charge, and a conviction can significantly impact your life. New Jersey DWI defense attorney John C. Iannelli has represented people charged with DWI for over 30 years. He aggressively approaches every case he takes on and has earned a reputation for achieving outstanding results on behalf of his clients. To put his experience to work for you, contact Iannelli Law today.