Suppressing Field Sobriety Tests

Field sobriety tests should be attacked through a motion to be suppress. Defendants are advised to discuss these issues with a DUI defense attorney. According to prosecutors, standardized field sobriety tests are based upon recognized scientific principles, i.e., if properly administered there is a direct correlation between performance and alcohol impairment. The prosecution should be required to fulfill the legal requirements that are necessary to prove the tests are scientific evidence. Naturally, this is impossible because the tests lack foundational requirements for admissibility as scientific evidence and are not widely accepted within the scientific community. Regarding the HGN, your DUI defense attorney should argue that the foundational requirements were not legally satisfied for the test to be used as scientific evidence. DUI defense attorney should also allege that the officer is not qualified as a medical expert to testify about BAC levels, it is possible to claim that the test does not meet state testing requirements for maintenance, calibration, licensing, etc. Finally, the refusal to provide a field sobriety test should be suppressed and held inadmissible at trial because it violates the fifth amendment right against self-crimination. The sole purpose of the FST evidence is to infer guilt, so requesting a motorist to perform the test is equivalent to having them provided incriminating testimony. Thus, this evidence is irrelevant to the trial and should be excluded.

If you have been arrested and charged with a DUI, contact DUI defense attorney in Sacramento Richard Allaye Chan Jr. for free consultation. Call (916) 446-4400 today.