Yes, field sobriety tests are admissible in court for DUI charges and OVI charges as evidence as long as the test is not suppressed or ruled inadmissible by a judge. A test can be suppressed or ruled inadmissible because it was not administered in substantial compliance with standards set forth by NHTSA.
Police officers base their decision to arrest for a DUI or OVI offense based on a combination of: 1) The police officer’s view of the vehicle being operated, 2) The police officer’s personal contact with the driver of the vehicle during the traffic stop, and 3) the police officer’s opinion of the driver’s performance of field sobriety tests on the roadside after being removed from their vehicle.
A person can be arrested and charged with an OVI offense based on the officer’s belief that the person is impaired. If a person takes a chemical test such as a blood, breath or urine test, they can also be charged with an OVI offense if the chemical analysis of their blood, breath, or urine shows that they are at or above a prohibited concentration of alcohol and or drugs in the sample collected and tested.
The Walk and Turn Test is one of 3 standardized field sobriety tests recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 8 clues police officers look for are whether an individual: 1) Moves their feet to keep balance during the instruction phase of the test, 2) Starts the test before being instructed to begin; 3) Steps off the line while walking, 4) Doesn’t touch heel to toe on any of the steps, 5) Raises their arms for balance, 6) Takes an incorrect number of steps, 7) Stops while walking during the test, and 8) Makes an improper turn after the first 9 steps.
The Walk and Turn Sobriety Test is the second of the three field sobriety tests often administered by police officers during OVI / DUI traffic stops. The Walk and Turn Test is classified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) as a psychophysical field sobriety test. Psychophysical field sobriety tests are used by police to assess an individual’s mental and physical impairment.
This psychophysical test is a divided attention test. The Walk and Turn Test requires an individual to concentrate on two things at once: comprehending instructions and performing the physical test. Police officers are trained under the NHTSA manual that the act of driving a vehicle requires that an individual divide his/her attention among multiple tasks.
The instructions for the Walk and Turn Test require that an individual begin by standing in a position where their left foot is placed on an imaginary straight line (at the direction of the police officer), with their right foot directly in front of their left foot touching heel to toe. The individual is then required to take nine heel-to-toe steps down the imaginary line, pivot on their front foot, and then take nine heel-to-toe steps back down the imaginary line. While performing the test, the individual is required to look down at their feet and keep their arms at their side while walking.
Police officers are trained under the NHTSA Manual to look for the presence of eight particular clues of impairment:
The NHTSA manual trains police officers that if an individual exhibits two or more clues on the Walk and Turn Test or fails to complete the test, they can be classified accurately 68 percent of the time as having a blood alcohol content above .10 percent of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per 210 liters of the person’s breath.
The instruction phase of the Walk and Turn Test can be incredibly difficult for many individuals to comprehend and even more difficult to perform. This is especially true when field sobriety tests are given in inclement weather, under poor lighting conditions and when several police officers are at the scene watching. This is an incredibly intimidating and scary feeling for an individual to have to perform a field sobriety test under such circumstances. In addition, police officers have both performed and administered field sobriety tests, such as the Walk and Turn Test, many times in their careers. For most individuals arrested for an OVI offense or DUI offense, this is the first time that they have ever had to perform a field sobriety test.
Police officers frequently fail to administer field sobriety tests in accordance with the NHTSA Manual instructions. When police officers fail to administer field sobriety tests, such as the Walk and Turn Test, properly, the validity of the test is compromised!
DUI defense attorney Michael Probst has handled hundreds of OVI / DUI cases and has significant experience reviewing video and audio evidence of the administration of Walk and Turn Tests by police officers during traffic stops and challenging the administration of Walk and Turn Tests at suppression hearings. A thorough and exhaustive defense of the administration of the Walk and Turn Test from an experienced DUI attorney is crucial to every OVI / DUI case. For more information about how our Columbus, Ohio DUI attorney can help defend you against an OVI charge or DUI charge, please give us a call at your earliest convenience.
If you have been charged with a felony DUI/OVI, skilled Columbus felony DUI attorney Michael Probst can help protect your rights and freedom. Contact my law office in Columbus online or call me at 614-232-8890 to schedule a consultation.
