Have you ever been made to go through an HGN test before as a consequence of a DUI arrest? If you possess a California driver’s license, this is something you should be properly aware of. As the holder of driving privileges in the state, you have to take it upon yourself to be properly informed by the various legislation applicable to DUI charges, including the different mandatory tests you may have to undergo. As far as the HGN test is concerned, it is otherwise known as the “horizontal gaze nystagmus” test and it is often the first field sobriety test administered in a California DUI investigation.
What is the most vital thing you should keep in mind about the HGN test? First of all, bear in mind that the police authorities do not need to establish the existence of probable cause for your arrest in order to administer this test. They can very well require you to undergo the same regardless of whether or not probable cause exists for charging you with a DUI violation. So would that mean that you have no choice but to succumb to the test and its subsequent results? Not exactly. Yes, you have to take the test but you can always contest its validity. The greatest flaw in the HGN test is that there are a good number of cases showing these police officers administering the same improperly.
An HGN test should follow standard and set procedures for administering it on the offender. Hence, the person arrested and made to take the test can always contest the accuracy of the results on account of the incorrect administration thereof. It should be well worth it to learn that there are actually a number of steps involved in administering an HGN test and each stage must be carefully executed. If the police officer is not precise enough, the results should definitely be contested as unreliable and consequently, inadmissible in evidence against the offender. This is essentially what your DUI defense attorney will take advantage of.
Your defense attorney will see to it that in case the matter reaches the trial stage in the courts, the jury should be made aware that “the tests are standardized field sobriety tests and not randomized field sobriety excursions.” Since there are existing federal laws governing the standing procedures for these field sobriety tests, the HGN test in particular, the counties in each state must perform the tests in accordance with the manner therein designated. Failure to be accurate in the procedures will render the results open to any attack of unreliability. So just before you are made to take the test or immediately thereafter, get in touch with an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer in CA ASAP.
