Why the HGN Test is Fraudulent

Officers Get It Wrong 95% of the Time!

Statue personifying "SCIENCE"

The most important scientific study of the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test undertaken by someone not associated with the government is J. Booker, The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test: Fraudulent Science in American Courts, 44 Science and Justice 3 at 133 (July 2004).  The biggest takeaway for DUI attorneys is that the study revealed that the HGN test was improperly administered in the field 95% of the time. (95%!)

Booker goes on to argue that the test was rushed into the field without proper scientific scrutiny, applying five hallmarks of fraudulent science.  The use of the HGN by officers in the field meets all five aspects of the fraudulent science test.  The two most important concerns raised in the study are 1) the demonstrable inability of officers in the field to properly estimate the 45-degree angle of onset, despite this being a lynchpin of the test, and 2) the apparent dichotomy between the test being used to determine the presence of alcohol at blood alcohol levels above .10 and its acceptance by the court as evidence of impairment, something inconsistent with the training of the officers. Barone, Defending Drinking Drivers, 2nd ed., pp 5-314.

Dayton OVI lawyer, Charles M. Rowland II limits his practice to the defense of the accused drunk driver.  If you face a DUI (now called OVI; operating a vehicle impaired) in Dayton, Springfield, Fairborn, Beavercreek, Xenia, Huber Heights, Kettering, Vandalia, or Miamisburg contact Dayton OVI attorney Charles M. Rowland II today! (937) 318-1DUI (318-1384).