A medical study noted that if performed in the correct setting by a trained medical professional, there are no known complications for the Romberg balance test. Police officers are not trained medical professionals, and sobriety tests administered on the side of the road usually take place in the dark and with external factors such as wind and blasts of air from passing vehicles. Steven Oberman and Robert Reiff explain why they are not fans of the Romberg field sobriety exercise.

In Birchfield v. North Dakota, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests incident to arrest for drunk driving, but a warrant must be obtained before obtaining a sample of blood.

The Origins of Physical Sobriety Exercises

Police officers believe that a drunk driving suspect should be able to perform physical sobriety exercises under stressful settings. Injuries and medical conditions may impair the ability to perform the exercises. Robert Reiff recommends that lawyers petition the court for an order in limine that will prevent the jury from hearing certain testimony that contains misleading, unscientific information. 

An accident led to a DUI Manslaughter charge against a graduate student who had a clean driving record. After conviction, a judge gave the young man a 35-year sentence. In the local jurisdiction, nine years was the average sentence for the crime. What distinguished the graduate student’s case? The trial penalty. Robert Reiff says the young man was punished severely for his decision to proceed to trial.

SFSTs — Why We Need Them, What Are They, How to Discredit Them with National College for DUI Defense, featuring Steve Oberman, Tony Palacios, and Doug Murphy.

DRE & ARIDE - Their Purposes, Differences & Discrediting Them. With Steve Oberman, Doug Murphy, and Anthony Palicios in collaboration with NCDD. Sponsored by Smart Start.

Analyzing & Preparing Your DUI Defense - the NCDD Board of Regents analyzes & prepares DUI defense for YOUR submitted fact patterns.

NACDL supports legislation to expand opportunities for diversion from the criminal legal system. 

Letter to the California Assembly Public Safety Committee in support of Senate Bill 1021, which would allow individuals convicted of certain first-time misdemeanor DUI offenses to be granted diversion.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule generally prohibits the disclosure of health and medical information without an individual’s authorization. However, the rule contains exceptions that aim to balance the right of privacy in one’s medical information with important public interests. When can medical information be disclosed to law enforcement? How does the law enforcement exception apply in DUI cases?

How the Infrastructure and Investment Act Creates the Specter of Increased Government Surveillance

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contains provisions addressing driving-related public safety issues, including multidrug impaired driving. The legislation, among other things, requires that drunk and impaired driving prevention technology become standard equipment on all new passenger motor vehicles. While many people have lauded these provisions, a plausible unintended consequence of this technology is the very real specter of broadly increased governmental surveillance.

Robert Reiff discusses the work of Dr. Marcelline Burns, one of the creators of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests that police officers use when investigating DUI/DWI cases.

Clients charged with DUIs often take “SCRAM pleas” in which they promise, as a condition of release, not to drink alcohol and to wear the SCRAM bracelet to prove it. These individuals sometimes insist they did not drink even though the SCRAM monitor says they did. Juliana DeVries explains why there is reason to believe these clients. Based on publicly available information, it appears that water, atmospheric alcoholic compounds, and temperature can interfere with the SCRAM bracelet’s ethanol reading.

For cases with the right facts, Ambien® automatism is a legitimate defense to DUI charges. A person who drives after taking Ambien® may be driving in a state of automatism, which means the vehicle operation is an involuntary act. People should not be held liable for conduct that is not the result of a voluntary choice.

About How an Aviation Medical Examiner Can Help with the FAA

If an aviator is charged with DWI, the best way to overcome a medical deferment is to hire both an Aviation Medical Examiner and a lawyer experienced in FAA matters.