Field Sobriety Test Lawyer in Los Angeles

DUI Charges & Field Sobriety Tests

Whether you have submitted to and failed field sobriety tests, or if you refused field sobriety testing, and were subsequently arrested for DUI in Los Angeles, a DUI defense lawyer at Okabe & Haushalter may be able to help you.

Our lawyers have experience with field sobriety tests and how to successfully contest their results in court. For instance, a field sobriety test may not be administered properly by the police officer, the officer may interpret the results differently than another officer would, or the weather and road conditions may have been such as to alter the driver’s ability to perform field sobriety tests.

Because these tests have not been proven to be 100% accurate, and because an external influence may have skewed the test results, a Los Angeles DUI attorney at our firm may be able to successfully prove that our client’s field sobriety test results did not actually show any signs of physical or mental impairment.

Los Angeles Field Sobriety Tests and Drunk Driving Arrests

A field sobriety test is a test which is administered by law enforcement upon suspicion of drunk driving, in order to show signs of lack of coordination, an inability to follow instructions and a lack of balance. There is also a test, called the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) which is conducted by having a driver follow a light or object with his/her eyes. This test is meant to show an involuntary jerking movement of the eyes, side to side. This is deemed to be a sign of intoxication. The three main tests performed in Los Angeles are the Walk and Turn, Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus and One Leg Stand.

A skilled Los Angeles DUI lawyer may be able to review an officer’s reports of field sobriety tests and view any video (if there was a camera mounted in the police car which recorded the tests) in order to determine whether the tests were conducted in a standardized manner. Additionally, a lawyer may use any physical condition, injury or illness which the defendant may have had at the time of the arrest in order to prove that a failed test was not the result of intoxication, but rather a pre-existing condition.