04 November

Sticky

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: They Don’t Work

The National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration’s standardized field sobriety tests were developed based on a 1977 study. The subjects of this study had blood alcohol content levels ranging from zero to .15 percent. Though there was such a large different between the test subjects, there was a 47 percent error rate in determining a person’s impairment after administering the standardized field sobriety tests. 47%! This means that almost half of the people were misidentified by police officers as being drunk when in fact they were not. What is worse, one of the researchers agreed that the tests are problematic...

12 April

0 Comments

Sticky

Nonstandardized Field Sobriety Tests

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

Ohio has adopted the three-test field sobriety protocol as set forth in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) manual for training law enforcement officers. The three tests adopted by NHTSA all survived scientific scrutiny as being indicative of impairment. The tests are: (1) horizontal gaze nystagmus, a test of the subject's eyes; (2) walk & turn; (3) one-leg-stand. The officer is trained to administer the tests in a standardized fashion and record "clues" of impairment as evidenced by the subject's performance on the tests.Often, you will encounter a circumstance where the officer employs an non-standardized field sobriety test. These...

05 April

0 Comments

Sticky

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests; the walk & turn test

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Uncategorized

The Trooper gave me a “walk the line” test. What was he looking for? The Walk & Turn test is a divided attention test that is used as part of the three-test battery of field sobriety tests. The officer will observe your performance on this test, looking for eight (8) clues of impairment. You will be deemed to have failed the test if you present just two (2) of the eight (8) clues. According to NHTSA, the Walk & Turn test is 68% accurate in determining alcohol intoxication above 0.10% BAC (when two or more clues are present). See generally 2006...

02 April

0 Comments

Sticky

Can a Person Refuse to Take the Field Sobriety Test?

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

QUESTION: Can a person refuse to take the field sobriety test?AUDIO ANSWER by DUI Attorney Charles Rowland:...

07 December

0 Comments

Sticky

Ohio OVI: Standardized Field Sobriety Tests & Marijuana

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol

State v. Dixon, 2007-Ohio-5189 (Ohio Ct. App. 12th Dist. Clermont County 2007).More and more, we are seeing law enforcement officers arrest drivers on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of marijuana. Often, an officer will request a urine test for marijuana after a defendant has blown substantially under the per se alcohol limit on a breath test machine. This raises questions about the proper determination of probable cause. If, for example, no alcohol was suspected how did the officer arrive deduce enough evidence to make an arrest? Were the standardized field sobriety tests administered to detect alcohol or...

11 October

0 Comments

Sticky

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: The One Leg Stand Test

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) are a battery of three tests administered and evaluated in a standardized manner to obtain validated indicators of impairment and establish probable cause for arrest. These tests were developed as a result of research sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and conducted by the Southern California Research Institute. A formal program of training was developed and is available through NHTSA to help law enforcement officers become more skillful at detecting DWI suspects, describing the behavior of these suspects, and presenting effective testimony in court. Formal administration and accreditation of the program is provided through the...

03 October

0 Comments

Sticky

Ohio OVI Law: The Coming DRE Expert

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol, DUI Law

Ohio is making the transition to using the Drug Recognition Expert protocol in apprehending and prosecuting impaired drivers. DRE refers not only to the officers themselves, but to the 12-step procedure that these officers use. DRE was developed by police officers from the Los Angeles (California) Police Department. In 1979, the Drug Recognition program received the official recognition of the LAPD. On October 22, 2010, Ohio became the 48th state to be accepted into the International Association of Chiefs of Police's (IACP) Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP). Once approved by the IACP's DECP Highway Safety Committee, Ohio was eligible to...

10 September

0 Comments

Sticky

Illegal Police Stops (by DaytonDUI)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law

Protecting You From Illegal Police Stops! The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects you against unreasonable searches and seizures, which includes being unlawfully or illegally pulled over or stopped by law enforcement. An officer cannot simply pull you over based on a hunch or intuition. When a police officer observes a traffic violation, he or she is justified in initiating a limited stop for the purpose of issuing a citation. State v. Brickman(2001), 11th Dist. No. 2000-P-oo58, 2001 Ohio App. LEXIS 2575. The legal standard applied to traffic stops is reasonable and articulable suspicion, which means that the officer has reason to...

17 July

0 Comments

Sticky

DUI Blood Tests: Whole Blood vs. Serum/Plasma

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Ohio Administrative Code 3701-53-03(A) sets forth the techniques and methods for determining the concentration of alcohol in blood, urine and other bodily substances. Pursuant to that rule, Ohio allows for testing including gas chromatography and enzyme assays. To challenge a blood test, it is important to know if the State has tested the blood as whole blood or as serum/plasma. Operation with a concentration of alcohol is prohibited if the concentration in whole blood is equal to or exceeds .08%, R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(b). However, the prohibited concentration for whole blood is a concentration equal to or exceeding .096%, R.C.4511.19(A)(1)(c). The high...

29 April

0 Comments

Sticky

DaytonDUI, Defending a Breath Test Case

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

"I'll Huff and I'll Puff and Blow Your House Down" Did you know that your breathing pattern can significantly alter the concentration of alcohol on your evidential breath test? According to scientific research, "[t]he subject's test manner of breathing just prior to providing breath for analysis can significantly alter the concentration of alcohol in the resulting exhalation." (Jones, 1982, Schoknecht, 1989) as cited in Physiological Aspecs of Breath-Alcohol Measurement, Alcohol Drugs & Driving Vol. 6, No. 2, A.W. Jones.Hyperventilation "...

walk and turn Tag

I support The Substance Abuse Prevention Institute