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| Gotta Evaluate the Police Investigation from morerichesdaily.com |
The
Police Investigation of a DWI case is a process with many stages.
How
you perform at each and every stage builds or diminishes your defense of
sobriety.
1. The
STOP of a Car is the first decision point in their police investigation.
The police may follow you for some time before deciding to
stop you. They may want to gather more information, and they may want to note
multiple driving infractions. This determination must be balanced with their
public responsibility to remove unsafe drivers from the roadway as quickly as
possible.
The
first test of your sobriety is not a field side sobriety test, it is the STOP
of the car.
How fast or slow did you respond to their emergency lights
and/or siren. How did you pull your car over? Did you move it to a safe
location? Did you park parallel to the curb?
2. The
officer’s first contact with you physically, and mentally at roadside sets the
stage of their DWI investigation.
Police have to be excellent psychologists. They have to
read people, and to read them quickly. Pulling over a motorist is the most
dangerous thing a police officer does. They have no idea who they are stopping.
You are an unknown to them, and because of that you are suspect. They will be
watching your movements, listening to your words, and assessing you for danger.
Every question they ask, and every direction they give is taking them away from
or towards an arrest decision.
Legally at this stage in their investigation they can
command that you get out of your car.
The police begin to use “divided attention” tests in their
first contact with you. Which are questions that have an associated mental task
and a physical task. Such as, can I have your driver’s license and
registration? You must now remember both parts of the question, and retrieve
these documents. Alcohol affects the ability to divide the mind’s attention and
perform multiple tasks like these.
3. How
you exit the car is a demonstration of your balance and coordination.
Those that need assistance in getting out of their car are
not starting off on a good foot, no pun intended. If you can get out of your
car or truck unassisted, stand up straight, and walk normally that is another
indication of sobriety.
4. The
next part of their investigation will usually involve the infamous standardized
field side police sobriety tests.
Once you are out of the car you may or may not have decided
to do their tests. Legally you don’t have to do them. There are only three
standardized tests. The word or term standardized is very important here
because non-standardized sobriety testing is completely without guidelines, without
research, and without basis. It is winging it and winging it don’t cut with
proving a legal case beyond a reasonable doubt. Tests in reciting the alphabet,
touching your nose, touching your fingers, and the other variants are
completely made up nonsense. This type of police stuff must be fun but kinda
like the kid game “do as I say but not as I do,” difficult to win.
The ONLY STANDARDIZED FIELD SIDE SOBRIETY
TESTS are:
1. The
walk and turn
2. The
stand on one leg
3. HGN
(horizontal gaze nystagmus)
What
does Standardized testing mean?
Standardized means they must be given, instructed,
demonstrated, and scored in a specific way to be valid, and accurate. Every
officer, trooper, and deputy must follow these protocols. These tests were
designed, commissioned, and approved after years of research and thousands of
lab hours. The police can't just make stuff up. The tests were designed by the
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to be used by law
enforcement in all fifty states. The purpose of the tests is not to gauge
whether a person is drunk, impaired, or intoxicated. The tests were created to
reveal drivers with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of .10 or more.
The
police will usually just note pass or fail as to their tests.
How much or how little you were able to follow police
directions, and do what was instructed in the way that they wanted is highly
subjective. Bringing out every detail of your performance may score points as
to your sobriety. The police standard for stating that you failed is very low.
Just two mistakes on any test is a fail. Considering that some tests have over
hundred things to do right, maybe your performance of 90% should be considered
by those about to judge your sobriety in a court of law.
5. The
police DWI arrest decision
At each and every stage in the investigation process they
are assessing, gathering, recording, and most importantly deciding what they
will charge, and when they will charge it. How long did it take them to make
the arrest decision (time from stop to arrest)? What did they ask or do within
that time period? Was their investigation thorough and complete?
Originally, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. My father was a NYS corrections officer, and my mother a waitress. I now live in Ithaca, NY with my wife (of 25 years), and four kids. I have a B.S. in Human Biology, Doctorates in Law and Chiropractic, and a Post Graduate in Acupuncture. I practiced as a Chiropractic Physician in Florida from 1986 to 1995. I graduated law school in 1997, and went on to practice trial law in FL, NY, NJ, and PA. I love practicing criminal defense and injury law within the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
Over 95% of the cases that I take on are New York DWI defense cases. I am certified as a breath tester by the Department of Transportation, the guidelines of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). I am certified in Field Sobriety Tests, and an active member of the National College of DUI Defense (NCDD). My online materials include over 400 blog posts, dozens of articles, and over 330 informative videos on my youtube channel.
I have co-authored Strategies for Defending DWI Cases in New York, in both 2011 and 2013. These are West Thomson legal manuals on New York State DWI defense, and focus on the best practices for other lawyers handling a New York DWI case. Included in Strategies for Defending DWI Cases in New York are materials I provide clients, such as my fee agreement and ways to avoid misdemeanor probation. I was selected by Super Lawyers as a Upstate New York 2013 Rising Star in DWI/DUI Defense based on my experience, contributions, and professional standing.
607.229.5184
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