Why You Can Refuse A Field Sobriety Test
- Why You Can Refuse A Field Sobriety Test Manual
- Can You Refuse A Field Sobriety Test In Washington State
Why You Should Refuse Any Field Sobriety Tests When Pulled Over for Suspicion of DUI. When you take a field sobriety test, you put yourself at the mercy of the police officer’s subjective judgment. The officer can use the results of your field sobriety test to make an arrest, requiring you to take the chemical test.
If you regularly get behind the wheel while drinking alcohol chances are you will someday be stopped by the police. You will probably be asked to take a roadside sobriety test, a breathalyzer test or a blood or urine test. Your initial reaction might be to do nothing that would incriminate yourself. After all, this is the United States. We all have the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, correct?
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You may also be thinking that if the police haven't conducted a breath test or blood-alcohol test, they would have no evidence to use in court to prove that you are intoxicated, so you would never get a conviction, and that all you have to do is stick to your story that you only had a couple of drinks. You would be wrong on both counts.
Implied Consent Laws
The legal point that you may be overlooking is the fact that driving in this country is not a right, it is a privilege. That privilege is granted to you by the state in which you live after you meet certain conditions, such as passing a written and/or driving test.
You are also not granted the privilege to operate a motor vehicle unless you agree to abide by certain regulations and conditions. In all 50 states, those conditions include something called 'implied consent.' You may not have noticed, the last time you applied to renew your driver's license, but you signed an agreement in which you promised to the implied consent laws of your state. It was there, in the fine print.
What Implied Consent Means
Typically, most states implied consent laws include:
- Carrying a driver’s license and proof of insurance and producing them when asked by law enforcement.
- Consenting to blood, urine, and/or breath tests to determine your blood-alcohol content if asked.
- Performing field sobriety tests when requested.
In some states, the implied consent terms are printed on the back of your driver's license itself.
You Can Still Refuse
Regardless of what the implied consent laws are in your particular state, you are subject to those in the state in which you are driving.
Even though you agreed to abide by these conditions when you applied for a driver's license, you can still refuse to take the sobriety tests. However, in every state, refusing to submit to such testing is itself a violation that carries its own penalties, regardless of whether you are convicted of drunk driving or not.
It's the job of our law enforcement officers to keep the roads safe for everyone. If the officer believes that you are intoxicated and a danger to yourself and the public, he can arrest you just because you refused to take the tests.
Refusal Can Mean Immediate License Suspension
In some states, the officer can immediately confiscate your driver's license as an administrative, not criminal action, because you broke your written promise to submit to such testing when you applied for that license.
You may be thinking that is a violation of your right against double jeopardy and being punished for the same crime twice. But in most states, taking away your driving privileges has been set up as an administrative function of the department of motor vehicles and not a function of the criminal court.
After all, the Department of Motor Vehicles granted you those driving privileges, it can take them away. If you refuse the officer's request for sobriety testing, your license can be immediately suspended for six months to a year, depending on the laws of the state in which you are arrested. You may also have to pay fees and penalties before your license can be returned.
Increased Fines and Penalties
Again, you may be thinking that you can live with the license suspension and other penalties involved in refusing to be tested, but you need to avoid a DUI conviction at all costs, so refusing to take the test will eliminate any evidence against you in a court of law.
That's not exactly correct, either. Courts will convict drivers of driving under the influence based on the officer's observations both prior to pulling you over and during the arrest. His statements that he smelled alcohol, that you were slurring your words or unsteady on your feet can all be considered evidence.
Why You Can Refuse A Field Sobriety Test Manual
And don't forget that most police cruisers today are equipped with dash cams. Many a DUI attorney has had to back off trying to negotiate a plea deal after seeing the video of their client during the arrest.
No-Refusal Policy
In the crackdown on drunk driving, some states have now developed 'No Refusal' strategies, in which they can obtain immediate search warrants to obtain blood samples from drivers who refuse to take breathalyzer tests.
During targeted periods, usually around holiday weekends, judges remain on-call to issue search warrants on the spot, to streamline the due process procedures. The result has been more guilty pleas and fewer DUI trials.
The Refusal Itself Is Evidence
In some jurisdictions, the fact that you refused to take the requested tests is itself evidence of your guilt. Your refusal to submit to blood-alcohol concentration testing is seen in some states as an admission of guilt that can be used against you at trial. In all states, if you refuse to be tested, the penalties will be more severe if you are eventually convicted than they would have been if you had submitted to the tests in the first place.
The bottom line is, refusing to take the sobriety tests is going to cost you more in the long run—larger fines and fees, longer license suspension and possibly longer jail time if it's not your first offense. If you are stopped, go ahead and take the tests. Who knows? If you only had a couple, you might pass.
Everyone always ask, 'What should I do if I get pulled over and I've been drinking?'. There is definitely a lot of misinformation out there, so listen up.
So I will lay it out step by step for you, what you should do if you get pulled over and you've been drinking in the state of Kansas. First off, if you get pulled over and the officer ask you to take Field Sobriety Tests, always say no. Yes, even if you are sober, refuse to participate in these tests. There are a couple of reasons I say this, first, you don't have to take them! Second, these tests are designed for you to fail. There are 3 common tests that are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for you to do, and they are not designed for people to pass. I have the tests listed below.
Field Sobriety Tests are Completely Voluntary - You Do Not Have to Take Them!
First, in Kansas, you do not have to take field sobriety tests(Walk and Turn, Stand on One-Leg, and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test or HGN.). You can say no without fear of it coming back on you in any way whatsoever. You might get arrested if you refuse, but the truth is that you will probably be arrested anyways. The officer is supposed to tell you, when they ask you to take field tests that they are voluntary. It usually sounds more like a demand that you do them rather than an option though so beware. Voluntary, by it's very definition, means a choice without negative consequences, and these tests are voluntary so why would you give them extra evidence to use against you when you don't have to.
Field Sobriety Tests are Not Easy - You Can Fail Them Even When You Think You Passed.
Second, Field sobriety tests are not truly a pass or fail test as they are called. An officer gives you a set of instructions, you are supposed carry out those instructions, and then the officer will grade you on them. However, sometimes these tests aren't on video so then you are looking at a situation where it's your word vs. the officer's word. I'll give you a hint who the judge is more likely to believe.. the officer. Another problem with these tests is that often the officer doesn't administer them accordingly with the standards they are supposed to. For example on the test called the Walk and Turn test you are supposed to walk heel to toe for nine steps while not raising your arms for balance ever, or stepping off of the line which may be real or imaginary the officer has told you to stay on. There are just so many spots to screw up for anyone who is sober or drunk. This effectively means that you can fail these tests when you are sober.
Can You Refuse A Field Sobriety Test In Washington State
When you factor both of these reasons it's easy to see that you should always refuse the Field Sobriety Tests. The fact that you may blow under .08 on a breathalyzer doesn't necessarily get you off the hook. In Kansas they can still charge you with DUI if you are under .08, but they need other evidence like Field Sobriety Tests to do so, so why give it to them? These are the reasons why I always tell people to refuse refuse refuse the Field Sobriety Tests.
If you ever do run into trouble with a drunk driving charge call our office to speak with an experienced Overland Park Criminal Defense Attorney.