Manhattan DWI defense attorney Rachel Kugel of The Kugel Law Firm is explaining how field sobriety tests work in DWI cases and what options drivers in Manhattan and New York City have when asked to submit to them. According to Kugel, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration developed three standardized field sobriety tests used by law enforcement across the country: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, the Walk-and-Turn test, and the One-Leg Stand test.

Understanding Field Sobriety Tests

These tests are designed for ideal conditions that rarely exist during a roadside stop in New York. Uneven pavement, poor lighting, glare from oncoming headlights, and adverse weather conditions can all compromise the accuracy of the results. Kugel notes that unlike post-arrest chemical tests governed by VTL Section 1194(2), standardized field sobriety tests are generally voluntary in New York.

There is no statutory penalty for refusing to perform them. However, prosecutors may attempt to introduce a refusal at trial as evidence of consciousness of guilt, and New York courts have allowed this inference in DWI cases. The situation differs significantly for chemical tests, where New York’s implied consent law triggers a mandatory one-year license revocation and a $500 civil penalty through the DMV for refusal, regardless of whether the driver is ultimately convicted of DWI.

Defending Against Field Sobriety Test Results

Field sobriety test results serve two purposes in a New York DWI case. First, they help officers establish probable cause for an arrest. Second, they can be introduced as evidence at trial to support the prosecution’s claim that the driver was impaired. Under VTL Section 1192(3), a common law DWI conviction is possible based solely on observed impairment without any BAC measurement, which makes field sobriety test performance especially significant when no chemical test was administered.

Kugel advises that the most effective defense challenges typically focus on whether officers followed NHTSA protocols during test administration and scoring. The administration’s own training materials state that standardized field sobriety tests are valid only when conducted according to prescribed procedures. Video evidence from body cameras, dashcam recordings, and nearby surveillance cameras can reveal whether the driver actually exhibited the clues the officer claimed to observe.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.