horizontal gaze nystagmus
Evidentiary rulings in your Virginia DUI trial
Evidentiary rulings in your Virginia DWI or criminal trial can be favorable, unfavorable or both. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I read with glee about a correct judicial ruling to exclude a blood test certificate of analysis (showing the defendant's purported blood alcohol level (BAC))...
Attacking field sobriety testing with an FST-trained DUI lawyer
Attacking field sobriety testing (FST) is an essential part of Virginia DUI defense against prosecutions under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, both to challenge the legality of the arrest and to argue that the prosecutor has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty...
Nystagmus remains junk Virginia DUI science says Fairfax DUI Lawyer
Nystagmus testing for alcohol impairment -- also known as horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) -- is junk field sobriety testing (SFST) science. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that no published Virginia appellate opinion approves of such testing, and this year's appellate opinions on HGN...
VA DWI Comes to Review in High State Court says Fairfax DUI Lawyer
VA DWI law is not pretty even though acquittals can be achieved. As a Fairfax DUI lawyer, I know that 0.08 is a ridiculously low per se threshold for mandating a conviction. I also know that driving under the influence without a blood alcohol reading has a...
HGN Testing in DUI Cases Means Little, Says Virginia DUI Lawyer
HGN testing -- meaning horizontal gaze nystagmus testing -- in Virginia DUI cases is one of the three field sobriety tests (the others being the walk and turn (WAT) test and one leg stand (OLS) test) covered in the student field sobriety testing (SFST) manual...
DWI defense – Determining guilt or innocence is not a cookbook exercise
During some DWI bench trials, it appears that judges are using a piece of paper to check off information about the defendant's purported performance on the junk science field sobriety tests. I hope that no judges are using a pre-printed checklist -- and if so,...
Virginia DWI Defense – Challenging Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Testimony
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test ("HGN") is routinely included among the field sobriety tests. Even if the test's name sounds scientific, in reality the test involve's the police officer having the DWI suspect follow a pen or other stimulus with the suspects' eyes, while the...