Another piece off crucial evidence the State will try to use against you are the Field Sobriety Exercises. Field Sobriety Exercises or FSEs are the physical things the officers ask you to do when the investigate a possible DUI. Most of the time, these exercises are performed on the side of the road just outside of your car. The most popular FSEs are:
HGN – This is performed when an officer asks you to “follow the pen” or “follow the light.” The officer is looking to make sure you stand still with your feet together. The officer is also checking to make sure you do not move your head. While you are following the light with your eyes, the officer checks for “nystagmus”. Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of the eye.
Walk and Turn – This is where the officer asks you to walk heel to toe in a straight line for nine steps, turn, and walk back on the line for nine steps. The officer is looking to see if you remain in the starting position while they demonstrate the exercise. They are also checking to see if you touch “heel to toe’ on the walk, that you stay on the line, turn as instructed, and that you do not use your arms for balance.
One Leg Stand – In this exercise the officer will ask you to stand on one leg, raise your opposite leg six inches off the ground and count to 30 while looking at your foot. Sometimes they ask you to count out loud. Other times they ask you to count silently. The officer looks to see if you can balance and also to see if you correctly count to 30. If they ask you to count silently, they are looking to see if you correctly estimate 30 seconds.
Preserving the evidence of FSEs is critical!! Many times the exercises are taped. If you do not ask for this tape it can be lost. At times this tape can show that the officer was incorrect when they evaluated your performance. Even if there is no tape, the reports documenting your performance are very important to your case.
The defense attorneys of Finebloom & Haenel know how to challenge the officer’s interpretation of your performance on these roadside exercises. Age, physical impairments, weather and countless other factors can influence how well you do. We also question whether the officer had the right to ask you to perform the exercises in the first place. We know how to preserve the evidence and how to question the officers to provide the best defense for you. Call us now at 941-404-5073 so we can help you!
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