A field sobriety test cannot ever be used as evidence that you are sober in court. They can only be used by cops and prosecutors as evidence you were impaired.
There is never a good reason to submit to them. Cops aren’t watching to see if you are sober. They are looking to see if you are impaired.
If you are drunk, hope they don’t make you take a breathalyzer. Even then, you can refuse and they can make you take a blood test OR if you refuse that they take your license but they have less evidence you were drunk. I’m not entirely sure, but fairly certain they could get a warrant and compel a blood draw, but hopefully by that time you’ve sobered up a bit. You still forfeit your license.
If you are just a little intoxicated, the time between being pulled over and a phlebotomist takes your blood could be enough to be under the limit.
That said, even under the limit, they might still claim you were impaired anyway and hit you with the ticket/arrest anyway.
burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
The cop will have one more piece of evidence to arrest you on. No dwi is made solely on you failing a single test, the judge would laugh their ass off for that. But when you tell one, “he was swerving across multiple lanes, smelled of alcoholic beverages, couldn’t say the alphabet starting at e and ending at t, had XXX nystagmus (there’s like three types they check for), did PZY clues on the walk and turn test, and admitted he had been at the bar an ‘hour or so ago,’” they suddenly have a very different conception of what failing to remember the alphabet means.
Remember, don’t answer any questions on a traffic stop, kiddos. It’s always shut the fuck up friday. ALSO, fuck people who drive drunk, but mostly don’t give cops the time of day if they ask, much less any other info.
Ziggurat@jlai.lu 1 day ago
I still don’t get why the US sobriety tests are admissible by a judge. cops can just run a breathalyser test (or even a drug test), it’s faster than all these weird test and more reliable.
If your going to arrest someone anyway , you can even get a blood/urine sample for a lab-grade drug search.
burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
The blood/urine/breath samples come AFTER the arrest. At least where I live, blood needs a warrant, which they aren’t getting without enough ‘evidence’ to convince a judge. Hence the roadside sobriety tests. They can take a breath sample because the law requires that you give one if you have a driver’s license (it’s part of all the legal paperwork you sign when you get one), but you can’t really force someone to give a breath sample because it’s not a simple thing.
The breathalyzer and blood are definitive tests, but they aren’t needed for the arrest or the conviction. A cop that I know said the best cases were the ones where he stood a driver in front of his car’s camera for about five seconds and you can see them visibly fall over or stumble while just trying to stand there. Criminal cases are always about convincing a jury, and that means that ‘evidence’ like a car swerving on the highway, the smell of alcoholic beverages, the field sobriety tests, the general appearance or manner of the driver, the statements made, etc., all matter.
14th_cylon@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Obligatory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
shalafi@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
I got thrown in the drunk tank in college solely for failing the recite the alphabet backwards and mixing M and N, cuffed me the second I mixed it up. They had nothing else on me, was riding my bike straight down the sidewalk after returning library book in the wee hours. Performed the roadside aerobics perfectly.
TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
So what happened afterwards?
Falafelicious@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
I agree with never taking to cops. But if a cop says you’re doing a sobriety test, you don’t have a choice. Either do it or get suspended for a year. And they don’t need a reason, all they have to do is say you were swerving or you smell like alcohol
Semester3383@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Not correct. Field sobriety tests are ‘voluntary’ in all states in the US, although refusing to take one may be used as evidence against you in a trial, depending on the state. Likewise, you can refuse breathalyzer tests, although that may carry significant civil penalties.
Tja@programming.dev 1 day ago
The land of the free, everyone.
fubbernuckin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Actual question, how do I not answer any questions? I feel like if I’m literally mute for the entire encounter then I’m getting charged for not cooperating.
yoevli@lemmy.world 23 hours ago
You should verbally indicate that you don’t wish to answer questions rather than staying totally silent. That said, there are circumstances where cooperating can make your life easier if you’re able to easily and clearly dispel the officer’s suspicion, though this is highly dependent on situation and the specific cop you’re dealing with. If you are doing something wrong the best thing is always to stfu.