A lack of sleep produces many of the same effects associated with being drunk – including lack of coordination, judgment, and reaction time. Defense counsel should not allow a prosecutor, judge, or jury to dismiss consideration of sleep deprivation when it is relevant.

DWI Steve Oberman, Sara Compher-Rice

“Walk the line.” Everyone knows that when people hear those words, they’re being tested to see if they’re drunk. DUI defense lawyers often hear clients say, “I couldn’t do that if I was sober!” Although lawyers hope that they didn’t phrase it in quite those terms to the arresting officer, the point is well-taken. The now ubiquitous standardized field sobriety tests are unscientific, unfair, and misunderstood. However, if they are unchallenged, they have tremendous persuasive effect on the court and the jury.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not properly produce or use insulin, one of the primary hormones that regulate blood sugar levels. When it comes to driving under the influence, diabetics may have complications not present in other clients.

In making their arrest determination, police officers believe that a drunk driving suspect should be able to perform physical sobriety exercises under stressful settings on the side of the road. Robert Reiff notes that injuries and medical conditions may impair the ability to perform field sobriety exercises. He also recommends that defense lawyers petition the court to enter an order in limine (1) to preclude the prosecution’s witnesses from referring to the field sobriety exercises as “tests,” and (2) to prevent officers from testifying as to their ultimate opinion that a DWI defendant was “impaired.” Such testimony invades the jury’s province with misleading, unscientific information that appears to be scientific.

DWI David S. Katz DWI April 2013 44 ADHD and Driving — A Recipe for False DUI Convictions How many times has an investigating officer stated in a police report that the client “did not stop at the stop sign,” “pulled into traffic inappropriately,” “merged dangerously,” or “crossed the lane line

If a driver’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) is below the legal limit when the driver gives a breath or blood sample, this fact will not stop the prosecution from trying to obtain a DWI conviction. At trial, the state may attempt to use retrograde extrapolation to convince the jury that the BAC exceeded the legal limit earlier when the police stopped the driver on the highway. But retrograde extrapolation is an unreliable tool.

In reaching the decision to arrest an individual for DWI, an officer often relies upon physical roadside “testing” to assess the driver’s sobriety. Unsteadiness is among the most common indicators of impairment recounted by police officers. During the initial intake meeting with the client, a medical history should be obtained, inquiring as to whether any physiological factors affected behavior overall at the time of the arrest, but specifically, whether any injury pathology would have caused any problems in balancing. Consider having the client medically and physiologically evaluated by a podiatrist or orthopedic specialist who can offer an in-depth look into the client’s pattern of walking.

Flawed Conclusions Based on the Blood/Breath Ratio: A Critical Commentary

Thinking Outside the DWI Voir Dire Box

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DWI Steve Oberman, Sara Compher-Rice

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