Field Sobriety tests are the roadside balancing and coordination tests that police officers administer to determine whether to arrest someone for OUI/DUI in Massachusetts. In most cases, if an officer requires you to take field sobriety tests, the officer has already determined that you will be arrested and is using the field sobriety tests to gather more information to support the arrest. In Massachusetts, you are under no legal obligation to take field sobriety tests and can refuse the tests without any adverse consequences. A refusal to take field sobriety tests cannot be admitted into evidence at your trial for OUI.

If you took field sobriety tests, there are many ways to challenge the officer’s conclusion that you failed the tests. These defenses include challenge how condition under which the test was given, weather, road condition and oncoming traffic that all can impact your performance. The tests can be challenged on the basis that they are unfamiliar to you, unfair when required to perform on the side of the road in front of a police officer with your liberty at stake.

The field sobriety tests can also be challenged as to how the officer scored the test and interpreted the results.

The following are field sobriety tests commonly given by Massachusetts local police and State police officers to make OUI/DUI arrests.

Nine step walk and turn: An officer looks for the following when scoring the nine step walk and turn:

1. maintain heel to toe
2. maintaining a straight line
3. not using arms for balance
4. making a proper three point turn
5. counting each step out loud
6. starting the test when instructed to do so
7. not stopping while walking
8. maintaining balance during the instructions

Officers score the test unfairly and make it more difficult.

Failure to maintain heel to toe: The nine step walk and turn field sobriety tests requires the motorist to take nine steps out, maintaining heel to toe. Often, an officer’s police report will state that the motorist did not maintain heel to toe. However, the police training manual indicates that maintaining heel to toe is only a clue if there is greater than a two inch gap. Typically, the police report will not indicate how far apart the motorist missed heel to toe. This is an example of unfair scoring on the field sobriety tests, where the test has specific clues while the officer scores the test generally without regard to the details learned in the police training.

Arms used for balance: Officers also score the test unfairly by stating that a motorist used their arms for balance without detailing how far the arms were from the body. The test does not require a motorist to walk with their arms glued to their side, but according to the police training manual using arms for balance is only a clue if the arms are more than six inches from the body.

Failure to walk on a straight line: Officers typically state in the police report that a motorist failed to walk a straight line. At trial, it is often learned that there was no designated straight line and that the motorist was asked to walk an imaginary line. This raises an issue of fairness of the test as the failure to maintain a straight line requires the motorist to step completely off of the line. Without a designated straight line, an individual’s liberty is dependent on imagining the same line as the officer.

One Leg Stand Field Sobriety test:

The one leg stand is probably the most difficult field sobriety tests as many cannot perform this test even without consuming any alcohol. The test requires a motorist to hold one foot, six inches from the ground while counting to thirty. Essentially, the test is a test of physical fitness and abdominal strength as a motorist with a greater level of physical fitness will be more likely to succeed while taking this test. The police training manual acknowledges that physical condition can impact performance by stating that individuals over 65 years old, 50 pounds overweight or with back or knee problems may have difficulty performing the test.
Horizontal Gaze and Nystagmus test.

It is surprising that police officers still perform this field sobriety test as it is typically excluded from evidence. The test is administered by the officer by passing a pen or other stimuli in front approximately 15 inches above a motorists eyes. The officer attempt to determine whether there is any involuntary jerking of the eyes, known as nystagmus. Alcohol is one of many causes of nystagmus.

Other field sobriety tests

Alphabet recitation. During this test, the officer asks the motorist to recite the alphabet without singing. Some officers will require a motorist to start in the middle of the alphabet and stop before the end, for example, reciting the alphabet from C to T.

Counting tests. Some officers will have the motorist count backwards.

Finger to nose. This test requires the motorist to tilt their head back, and to touch their finger to their nose, as the officer instructs which finger for the motorist to touch to their nose. This nose touching test has never been studied for reliability but is sometimes used by officers to justify a DUI arrest.