Case Study

A DUI case study posted by Florida DUI Lawyer:

A Case Study on DUI Policy: Palm Beach County Florida
Andrew Parks, your resource for a Florida DUI Lawyer, continued:

SFSTs are videotaped at the roadside if the patrol vehicle is equipped to do so. A judge commented that the videotapes were often of poor quality due to poor technique and inadequate equipment, but that good quality videotapes are effective tools in court. She said another problem was the long amount of time it takes the officer and suspect to reach the "BAT cave" (sometimes 1.0-1.5 hours) because of the large area covered and few testing stations. After that amount of time, the suspect may not show as much impairment when videotaped as when arrested. Thus, only the administration of the BAT and related questioning are videotaped in the "BAT cave."

A judge stated that police officers too frequently ask questions by rote that often do not apply and seem silly in context. Some officers do not understand that questions provided on forms and in manuals are intended only as guidelines.

Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) is generally not admissible in this jurisdiction because courts believe it has to be administered under "controlled conditions," requiring a "true expert." Only two officers in Palm Beach County qualify as HGN experts. An officer explains they can administer HGN, but officers do not always understand the relationship to impairment. This means they do not know how to testify in court about the use of HGN (and perhaps SFSTs). SFSTs are not convincing to jurors who do not understand the relationship of tests (called "exercises") to impairment. Most appeals are DUI cases with trial error as the main grounds for appeal (an estimated one appeal for every six trials for all offenses including DUI). Most convictions are upheld.


Read more of this case study posted by a Florida DUI Lawyer.