Law enforcement officers employ the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test during DUI investigations. What are the correct procedures? What common errors do officers make when they administer the test?

Presented with National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), featuring Steve Oberman (The Oberman & Rice Law Firm, Knoxville, TN), Tony Palacios (DRE & SFST consultant, Atlanta, GA), and Doug Murphy, (Dean of the National College for DUI Defense and Doug Murphy Law Firm, P.C., Houston, TX) with host Mark Satawa (Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC, Detroit, MI)

With Steve Oberman of The Oberman & Rice Law Firm in Knoxville, TN; Doug Murphy, Dean of the National College for DUI Defense and Doug Murphy Law Firm, P.C., Houston, TX; and Anthony Palacios, DRE & SFST consultant based in Atlanta, GA, in collaboration with National College for DUI Defense (NCDD); hosted by Mark Satawa, Criminal Defence Consultants, Detroit, MI

DRE: Drug Recognition Evaluations
ARIDE: Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement

Regents and fellows of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) analyze & prepare DUI defense for YOUR submitted fact patterns. Featuring Steven Oberman, Oberman & Rice, Knoxville, TN; Doug Murphy, Doug Murphy Law Firm, P.C., Houston, TX; Donald Ramsell, Ramsell and Associates, LLC, Wheaton, IL; Bell Island, Island Law Office, Gering, NE

Analyzing an officer’s video in a DUI case is one of defense counsel’s most crucial tasks. And watching the video is not the only issue. When should counsel examine the video? What should counsel look for? How can one use what one sees or does not see? Who should view the video first – defense counsel or the client? Juanita Kimble answers these questions and more.

"To competently represent a client charged with DUI you must learn the new techniques and current technologies unique to this area of criminal defense. DUI defense involves a complex combination of science and law that should not be initiated by those unwilling to treat the defense of this serious crime with the respect that it deserves."

-Stephen L. Jones, "To DUI or Not to DUI, That is the Question," The Champion (August 2006). 

Find case-based tools and more on DUI here.

Trial by Numbers Ted Vosk November 2010 48 Uncertainty in the Quest For Truth and Justice “All results for every forensic science method should indicate the uncertainty in the measurements that are made, and studies must be conducted that enable the estimation of those values.”1 On A

Body-worn cameras have diminished what defense counsel can do to minimize the adverse effects of poor performance on field sobriety tests. In addition, poor video performance calls into doubt defenses commonly raised regarding breath testing. Originally introduced for the protection of the police, body-worn cameras are here to stay and bound to improve. Competent representation of people charged with alcohol-related operating offenses requires counsel to be aware of the various strategies that can be pursued when a client’s case includes the ever-present and ofttimes damning electronic eye.

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.

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?