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).
