< Back to OVI Articles
The Inconvenient Truth of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing
By Jon J. Saia (Adams County, Allen County, Ashland County, Ashtabula County, Athens County, Auglaize County, Belmont County, Brown County, Butler County, Carroll County, Champaign County, Clark County, Clermont County, Clinton County, Columbiana County, Coshocton County, Crawford County, Cuyahoga County, Darke County, Defiance County, Erie County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Gallia County, Geauga County, Guernsey County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Hardin County, Harrison County, Henry County, Highland County, Hocking County, Holmes County, Huron County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Lake County, Lawrence County, Logan County, Lorain County, Lucas County, Madison County, Mahoning County, Medina County, Meigs County, Mercer County, Miami County, Monroe County, Morgan County, Muskingum County, Noble County, Ottawa County, Paulding County, Perry County, Pike County, Portage County, Preble County, Putnam County, Richland County, Ross County, Sandusky County, Scioto County, Seneca County, Stark County, Summit County, Trumbull County, Tuscarawas County, Union County, Van Wert County, Vinton County, Warren County, Washington County, Wayne County, Williams County, Wood County, Wyandot County)
Many arrests for Operating a Vehicle Impaired (OVI) are based upon performance during the administration of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST’s). Unfortunately, so are many convictions.
SFST’s were developed in the late 70’s and early 80’s to assist law enforcement in the determination of whether or not probable cause existed to arrest someone for OVI. If administered in “strict compliance” with government standards, the SFST’s indicate the probability of someone having a blood alcohol content (BAC) at or above a .08 if the subject submitted to a chemical test.
There are three SFST’s. The One Leg Stand Test (OLS) can predict a level of BAC at or above a .08 approximately 65% of the time. The Walk and Turn Test (WAT) is 68% reliable. The most reliable, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test (HGN) is 77% reliable. Although the most accurate of the SFST’s, the administration of the HGN as required by the government is different than the administration as required by the original studies.
In developing the SFST’s, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) emphatically states that if any one of the standardized elements is changed when administering the Tests, the results of the Tests are useless. The Tests must be administered in strict compliance to have any validity.
Despite the government mandate, the current law in Ohio only requires the Tests to be administered in only “substantial compliance” with federal government standards to be admissible in court proceedings. The skewed results of these inappropriately administered tests can then be considered by a judge or jury to determine whether or not someone is guilty of OVI.
In addition, although Ohio Courts readily accepts the results SFST’s as reliable, Federal Courts do not. When appropriately challenged, the results of SFST’s have been determined to be inadmissible as evidence in Federal Court proceedings.
The current status of the law with regard to SFST’s is reminiscent of the days of the Soviet Union. When studies revealed an “inconvenient truth,” the Soviet government would simply change the results, without conducting any further studies, to reflect a “truth” that was more convenient to buttress the government’s position without any consideration as to how those “untruthful” results would effect the majority of the people
Despite the lack of reliability, SFST’s are often used by judges and juries in Ohio to determine whether or not someone is guilty of OVI.
What’s next? Checkpoints?
Never! Not in the United States of America.
That would be reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
This text may not be reused or
republished without permission of its author. All rights reserved.
|
