- June 24, 2013
- DUI
Although there are many methods that law enforcement agents use to try to measure a person’s level of intoxication, a Graham DUI defense lawyer can tell you that the best indicator by far is the reliable blood alcohol test. Scientific chemical tests such as these provide objective and quantifiable evidence of a person’s level of intoxication, and can determine the blood alcohol concentration within a very fine margin of error. Based on this measure, law enforcement agents will draw an opinion as to your driving impairment based on scientific studies.
Contrary to most peoples’ expectations, your Graham DUI defense lawyer will tell you that commonly performed field sobriety tests are much less trustworthy indicators of intoxication, and do not accurately discern a person’s level of driving impairment or sobriety. Field sobriety tests depend on inherently subjective evaluations by law enforcement agents, and ask them to make judgments about a person’s performance without any baseline knowledge of the person’s sober performance to compare it to. This creates a lot of room for erroneous assumptions and mistaken judgment, which your Graham DUI defense attorney will have to try to combat when constructing your defense.
Despite these problems, Graham DUI defense lawyers still have to deal with field sobriety tests as they are routinely used to help law enforcement develop probable cause for a stop or arrest. Sobriety tests are also used to establish the likelihood of impairment at a time close to driving, which your Graham DUI defense lawyer will have to explain. They are also used by prosecution to establish a causal relationship between the consumption of alcohol and your observed driving behavior. In other words, field sobriety tests are relied on to a great extent in DUI cases, but your Graham DUI defense attorney will have to make the argument as to why they are not very reliable and are not clear evidence of guilt.
There are a wide variety of field sobriety tests that might be administered. Discuss with your Graham DUI defense attorney what you were requested to take and how you performed.
For more information about field sobriety tests and how they will affect your DUI defense, contact a Graham DUI defense lawyer at Greene & Lloyd PLLC. Call (253) 770-0808.