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What to expect during a DUI stop in Snellville, GA

By: Attorney Alex Henson

If you are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol in Snellville, GA you might be pulled over and investigated by police. What can you expect during a DUI stop?

First, the officer might ask you if you’ve had anything to drink. You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer the question, but always be polite and respectful. Any statements you make could be used against you later in court.

Next, the officer might ask you to perform certain exercises to see if you are safe to drive. These exercises are called Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and your performance could be used against you in court later. The most common of these tests are the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the one leg stand, and the walk and turn. It is voluntary to participate in field sobriety tests. Refusing to participate cannot be used against you in court later.

The officer may decide that you are under the influence and less safe to drive. If the officer decides to arrest you, he or she may read you Georgia’s implied consent statement and request chemical testing of your breath or blood. These tests are voluntary, but refusal can result in your license being suspended.

If you are arrested for DUI in Snellville, GA, your case will be sent to Snellville Municipal Court. In Municipal Court, you will have the opportunity to resolve your case. However, if you decide you want a jury trial, your case will be transferred to the State Court of Gwinnett County.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Snellville, GA and would like a free consultation, call us at (404) 581-0999.

 

DUI: One Leg Stand Test

Both the Walk and Turn (W&T) and One Leg Stand (OLS) tests are considered, “divided attention” tests. The officer is determining how well a subject can multitask (mentally focus on multiple tasks or ideas at once). We will see there are two stages: an instruction stage and a performance stage. For the purposes of today’s article, we will just discuss the OLS test.

One Leg Stand (OLS)

Test Conditions

The OLS Test requires a reasonably dry, hard, level, and non slippery surface in relatively safe conditions. Standardizing this test for every type of road condition is unrealistic. Therefore, if road conditions are not ideal, officers are trained to:

  1.  Ask subject to perform the test elsewhere; or
  2.  Only administer HGN

The original research studies of this test suggest that individuals over 65 years of age; people with back, leg or inner ear problems; or people who are overweight by 50 or more pounds may have difficulty performing this test. In addition, the original studies suggest that individuals wearing heels more than 2 inches high should be given the opportunity to remove their shoes.

Test Procedures

The test is initiated by the officer giving the following instructions, accompanied by demonstrations:

  1. “Please stand with your feet together and arms down at the sides, like this.” Officer demonstrates placement of feet and arms.
  2. “Do not start to perform the test until I tell you to do so.”
  3. “Do you understand the instructions so far?” Officer trained to receive some affirmative response before continuing.
  4. “When I tell you to start, raise either leg with the foot approximately six inches off the ground, keeping your foot parallel to the ground.” Officer demonstrates the position.
  5. “Keep both legs straight and your arms at your side.”
  6. “While holding that position, count out loud in the following manner: ‘one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three,’ and so on until told to stop.” Officer demonstrates counting while maintaining position.
  7. “Keep your arms at your sides at all times and keep watching your raised foot, do you understand?” Officer trained to ensure subject indicates understanding and answer any of subject’s questions regarding the test.
  8. “Go ahead and perform the test.”

The officer is trained to always time the thirty seconds in which they evaluate the test. The test should be discontinued after 30 seconds. If the subject places his or her foot down, the officer is trained to instruct the subject to pick foot up again and continue counting from where the subject’s foot touched the ground.

Test Interpretation

There are a maximum number of four clues on this test. Officers are trained that if the subject shows two or more clues or fails to complete the test, there is a probability of impairment.

Subject sways while balancing. This clue refers to side to side or back and forth motion while the subject maintains the One Leg Stand position. Swaying means a distinct, noticeable side to side or front to back movement of the elevated foot or of the subject’s body. Slight tremors of the foot or body should not be interpreted as swaying.

Uses arms to balance. This clue is recorded if the subject moves his/her arms 6 or more inches from the side of the body in order to keep balance.

Hopping. This clue is recorded if the subject is able to keep foot off the ground, but resorts to hopping to maintain balance.

Puts foot down. This clue refers to when the subject is unable to maintain the OLS position by placing the raised foot down one or more times during the thirty second count.

It is possible for the officer to observe two clues simultaneously. If a subject is unable to perform the test, the officer is trained to record observed clues and document the reason for not completing the test.  

Call Us Today

If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving under the influence, contact the law firm of W. Scott Smith at 404.581.0999 today for a free case evaluation. You’ll find a local Atlanta DUI attorney ready to aggressively fight on your behalf. You can also find out more detailed information about Atlanta laws here.

Field Sobriety Tests Introduction

What are Field Sobriety Tests?

            In virtually every situation where a person has been pulled over for an alleged traffic violation and the officer “detects an odor of alcohol,” the officer will routinely ask the driver to perform Field Sobriety Tests (“FSTs”). These FSTs are used by the officer as tools used to assist them in determining whether probable cause exists to arrest a driver for the offense of DUI.

A Little About the Tests

            After many years of research and in an attempt to standardize Field Sobriety Testing, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) adopted three field sobriety evaluations for use by police officers nationwide: the One Leg Stand, the Walk & Turn, and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. NHTSA has issued strict standards by which the evaluations must be administered in order to ensure the tests’ results are consistently reliable and valid. These standards are published in a manual given to every NHTSA trained officer. The manual provides the precise procedures police officers are to use when administering the NHTSA-approved FSTs to DUI suspects.

FSTs to our Advantage

As a result, lawyers are able to question officers about their administration and interpretation of these FSTs under the NHTSA standards. In Georgia, every police officer is required to be trained under the standards provided by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.). As of October 1, 1995, P.O.S.T. adopted the three NHTSA-approved FSTs.

            This FST blog series will explore each of the three NHTSA FSTs in detail. We will discuss the tests themselves, how these tests are administered, how officers score the tests, and common mistakes officers make in giving these tests.  

by Casey Cleaver

VIDEO – Walk and Turn Field Sobriety Test

Imagine a straight line in front of you. Put your left foot on that line. Place your right foot in front of your left foot with your left toe touching your right heel. Put your hands down by your sides and hold that position without moving. Hello, I’m attorney Scott Smith and today we’re talking about the walk and turn field sobriety test, the second of the three standardized field sobriety tests approved by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration designed for the detection of impaired drivers.

Are you still holding that starting position I discussed in the beginning of this video? It’s tough isn’t it? Now imagine you’re on the side of the interstate with cars passing at seventy miles per hour, or in a parking lot next to a busy intersection with people looking on. You’ve got an officer that’s already told you that the test is to determine whether or not you’re safe to continue to drive. Is it getting more difficult? You haven’t even begun to actually walk the test yet.

The walk and turn field sobriety test provides the officer seventy-six different opportunities to notice eight clues of impairment. If the officer notices only two clues, it gives the officer enough evidence to believe you are an impaired driver.

The eight clues are broken down into two phases. The first phase is the instructional phase. During the instructional phase the officer asks you to get into the position described at the start of the video. During this instructional phase the officer is looking to see if you break that stance of if you start too soon by mimicking the officer’s movements. Those are the first two of eight clues.

During each series of nine steps you take, the officer is looking for four clues on each step. They are looking to see whether you miss touching heel to toe, whether you step off your line, whether you stop walking at any point during the step taking, or whether or not you use your arms for balance.

There are two final in the walking phase. One is for not turning exactly as instructed by the officer, and the final clue is for taking the incorrect number of steps in either series of nine steps, going out or coming back.

Does this test seem difficult to you to pass? The test isn’t designed to be passed. It is designed to show the officer clues of impairment to help them justify arresting you. We recommend to all our clients to politely refuse to participate in field sobriety testing, especially the dexterity testing. Do not help the officer make their case.

Our team of experienced Georgia DUI attorneys are trained just like the police officers in how to properly perform field sobriety evaluations. We are trained to look at each test and break down whether or not the instructions are correct, whether the officer demonstrated it correctly, and whether or not you actually exhibited the clues the officer said he saw at the time of you conducting these tests.

If you’ve been stopped for DUI and you are worried about your performance on the walk and turn field sobriety test, or whether or not you’ve just got questions for us, call our office today for a free consultation. We’re available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Our telephone number is 404-581-0999.

Thank you.

VIDEO – Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test

You’ve been stopped for DUI and the officer asks you to follow their finger with your eyes? What is this horizontal gaze nystagmus field sobriety test? And can it even be passed? That is the subject of today’s Peach State Lawyer video blog.

Hello, I’m attorney Scott Smith and today I’m standing in our mock trial courtroom. We’re talking about being asked out of your car after only having two drinks. The officer asks you to face him and with your hands by your side, feet shoulder width apart to follow his pen with your eyes. He asks you if you wear glasses or contacts or if you’ve had any recent head injuries. You’re about to perform the horizontal gaze nystagmus field sobriety test. It’s commonly known as the HGN test, or in the DUI world, the “eye” test.

What is this test?

The horizontal gaze nystagmus field sobriety test was originally designed by optometrists to diagnose medical issues within your eyes. The test checks for the involuntary jerking of your eye as your eyes move side to side horizontal to the floor following an object. Researchers determined some substances, particularly ethyl alcohol, and other central nervous system depressants, inhalants, and the drug PCP can cause horizontal gaze nystagmus in your eyes after use.

The horizontal gaze nystagmus field sobriety test, when properly performed looks for six clues of impairment. In Georgia DUI investigations, this test is the first of the standardized field sobriety evaluations.

Before the test can be performed on anyone, the officer is supposed to make sure both of your pupils are of equal size and your eyes move together from side to side. If you are having eye issues, the officer is supposed to discontinue the test immediately.

The clues are established in pairs. There are three tests performed that look for clues of impairment. The first test, called lack of smooth pursuit, is performed by the officer moving his finger back and forth across your field of vision, checking for nystagmus in both eyes as his finger or pen light is moving.

Because your eyes work together, each clue will be present in both eyes. If the officer says they notice a clue in one eye but not the other, the test would not be valid.

The second test is called distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation. It is where the officer moves his finger to the edge of your field of vision and holds it there for a minimum of four seconds to determine if your eye continues to exhibit sustained jerking when it is fixed on his finger at the edge of your field of vision.

These tests are designed to build upon each other, so you should never see clues present for distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation unless clues are present for lack of smooth pursuit.

The third and final test is called onset of nystagmus prior to a forty-five degree angle. The test is performed by the officer moving his finger slowly from the center of your field of vision until they reach a forty-five degree angle. When the officer begins to see nystagmus they are supposed to stop their finger and hold it to confirm the sustained jerking of the eye.

That’s it. That’s the entire horizontal gaze nystagmus field sobriety test. There’s nothing you can do to pass it. It’s all about the involuntary jerking of the eye and trusting that the officer in his report has documented his observations accurately.

As you can imagine, there are things that an experienced attorney can look for to determine whether the tests are performed correctly. If the tests are not performed correctly, an experienced DUI attorney can ensure the test should not be admitted into evidence or at trial against you.

Have you been recently arrested for DUI and asked to take this eye test? Do you have questions about the test? We’re available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to talk to you. Call us today for a free consultation. Our telephone number is 404-581-0999.

Thank you.