Form 18: Field Sobriety Records Request
Police Chief and Custodian of Records
Re: OPRA Public Records Request- Field Sobriety
Dear Police Chief and Custodian of Records:
I am preparing an article on field sobriety tests by Police departments. My articles have been published in publications such as the NJ Law Journal, NJ Police Chief Magazine and NJ Municipal Court Law Review. I have written over 75 articles in New Jersey and national publications on criminal law traffic and other litigation topics. Under the OPRA/ the Open Public Records Act (OPRA)47:1A-1 et seq. and the common law right to know under Shuttleworth v. City of Camden, 258 N.J. Super. 573 (App. Div. 1992 I request the following public documents in the police department:
1. training materials for each any "test" usually given to individuals under suspicion of DWI including manuals, lesson plans, texts, tests, and article reprints kept by the police.
2. Many departments rely on the NHTSA Manuals dealing with field sobriety. If your department relies on these manuals, please advise in writing the website link to the specific manual relied on by your police department
3. Documents, which set forth your police department's policy on accommodating person's with physical disabilities who are requested by police to perform the field sobriety, test of walk and turn
4. Documents, which set forth your police department's policy on accommodating person's with physical disabilities who are requested by police to perform the field sobriety, test of finger to nose.
5. Documents which set forth your police department's policy on accommodating person's with physical disabilities who are requested by police to perform other field sobriety tests, such as the one legged stand.
6. Documents, which set forth procedures for officers in your police Department to achieve certification or recognition as a DRE.
7. The most recent training manual for Field Sobriety Testing by your police department
8. The NHTSA Manuals dealing with field sobriety.
9. Documents from NHTSA dealing with field sobriety tests
10. Documents from NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety dealing with field sobriety tests.
11. Documents from the NJ State Police involving HGN testing
12. Documents signed by Kevin Flanagan of NJ State Police
The Supreme Court case of Kovalcik v Somerset County Prosecutor's Office expanded the OPRA requirements to open to public access police training records and details. Kovalcik v. Somerset County Prosecutor's Office 206 NJ 581 (2011)
The judgment is affirmed to the extent that it concluded that the police and prosecutor office documents are not exempt as protected by an order of confidentiality. The judgment is reversed to the extent that it held that the documents are also not exempted personnel records. That aspect of the matter is...
