Stand with your feet together. Watch the tip of my pen and follow the movement with your eyes, without turning your head. Stand on one leg and raise the other off the ground. Walk on this line, turn, and walk back. Field sobriety tests involve a lot of orders and potentially difficult-to-follow instructions whether you are sober or not. Do you have to put up with them if you are pulled over?
Generally speaking, there is no law requiring you to take field sobriety tests when you are pulled over for a potential DUI/DWI. However, this only refers to the tests such as the walk and turn and leg raise; you cannot refuse a post-arrest chemical breath test without facing license suspensions and other penalties. Additionally, while you can legally refuse field sobriety tests, it might make the police angry and more determined to arrest/convict you of drunk driving.
For help with your case, call our Cherry Hill, NJ DWI defense lawyers at Lombardo Law Group today at (609) 418-4537.
Can I Say No to Field Sobriety Tests in NJ?
There is a common misconception that you need to listen to every order the police give you during a traffic stop, and that you cannot refuse things like a portable breath test or field sobriety tests. In fact, neither of these kinds of tests is required, and the only test that you cannot legally refuse without penalties is a post-arrest test (such as a Breathalyzer, Alcotest, or blood test). Otherwise, you can refuse to take field sobriety tests for any reason or for no reason.
If you are drunk, you might obviously want to avoid field sobriety tests, given that “failing” them might provide evidence that you were drunk. If you have a physical disability or other problem that prevents you from fulfilling the requirements of the test, you might also want to avoid taking the test so that you do not “fail” it for another reason, and officers will typically decline to test you if your disability would interfere with the legitimacy of the test. However, you might simply not want to participate in the test, or it might be cold outside your car, and you do not want to get out on the side of a dark highway and perform physical tasks.
In any case, you have the legal ability to refuse to take field sobriety tests, but that does not always mean that you can refuse with no consequences.
Can the Police Retaliate if I Refuse Field Sobriety Tests in NJ?
There is generally no direct penalty for refusing field sobriety tests like there is for refusing to take a post-arrest breath test. With breathalyzer refusal, the police can arrest you, suspend your license, and fine you for that offense alone, but there are no direct charges to issue for refusing field sobriety tests. Even so, there are some potential practical consequences that our Folsom, NJ DWI defense lawyers should warn you about.
First and foremost, police do not like it when you do not cooperate with them. It is generally best to be polite when speaking with police. If you want to refuse field sobriety tests, you should say so politely but firmly. You may also want to say that it is your lawyer’s advice that you refuse, allowing them to place the blame on someone other than you.
If the officer is annoyed or angry because you do not want to perform the tests, they may try to threaten you with a DWI arrest or otherwise pressure you into taking the tests anyway. It can be hard to say no to an armed police officer on a dark road, and giving in to this kind of pressure is very common and understandable.
One other thing to consider is that police cannot (legally) arrest you without grounds to do so. If they have enough evidence to arrest you for drunk driving, they will do so whether you take field sobriety tests or not. If you refuse and they arrest you without proper grounds to do so, we can fight the arrest.
Can I Beat DWI Charges by Refusing Field Sobriety Tests in NJ?
Generally speaking, refusing field sobriety tests will not be enough to beat the charges against you. In many cases, police will be able to get enough evidence to charge you with drunk driving even without the field sobriety tests.
What police and prosecutors do must be analyzed at each step of the case: did they have reasonable suspicion to pull you over? Did they have probable cause to arrest you? Did they prove the case to the judge to convict you? In order to make the arrest, police need probable cause that you were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and they can often get sufficient evidence of that without field sobriety tests.
Generally, police will want more than just a “failure” on the tests to confirm you were drinking and driving, and they will look for the odor of alcohol on your breath, slow movements, bloodshot eyes, stumbling/fumbling motor skills, and other evidence before even considering making you perform field sobriety tests. If this gets them enough proof to arrest you, they do not need the field sobriety tests to move forward with their case.
Should I Refuse Field Sobriety Tests if I’m Pulled Over for Drunk Driving in New Jersey?
The final question is whether you should actually take the test or not. In general, you should always ask for your lawyer to be present before talking to police or giving them any kind of information, as anything you give up will be used against you. Because of this, it makes sense to just say no to field sobriety tests, as any kind of mistakes or failures could be construed as evidence that you were drunk.
However, in reality, it might not be fatal to your case to take the tests in some situations. First, if you are completely sober and know you can do the tests – and that a breathalyzer will show no alcohol even if you are arrested – it might help shut down the officer’s suspicion and end the case right there. Second, if the tests are performed incorrectly by the officer, then we might be able to get them thrown out as evidence against you anyway.
If you have a disability or some other good excuse to say no to the tests without drawing backlash from the officer, it is usually best to just say no.
Call Our NJ DWI Defense Lawyers for a Free Case Review Today
Call (609) 418-4537 for a free case evaluation with Lombardo Law Group’s Haddonfield, NJ DWI defense lawyers today.
