I’d compare it to the sobriety test of being asked to walk in a straight line. someone who’s drunk will put a lot of effort in it, which is the giveaway.
Sobriety tests are notorious for being very subjective and not having well defined criteria and cops failing people even if they aren't drunk. The subjectivity in the test is a feature that allows cops to justify their arrests or uses of force.
Obviously once you hit a certain point of drunkness obviously maybe a test like walking in a line can demonstrate something useful. But so would a breathalyzer. The false positives is the problem because they're being used to illegitimately subject innocent people to criminal charges.
By the time the police are commanding you to do a field sobriety test, they have already decided to charge you with DUI. There is literally nothing you can do during the test to change their mind. It's a formality, and the "test" is vague enough that the officer can cite any little twitch or misstep as "evidence" that you failed the test.
If you pass a breathalyzer test (blow under the limit), and they still want to charge you with DUI, they will likely do a field sobriety test because the results are non-numeric and are subjective. Heck, you can blow 0.0 and still get arrested for DUI[1][2], and if you tell the world about it, the police will sue you for defamation[3].
krferriter|1 year ago
Obviously once you hit a certain point of drunkness obviously maybe a test like walking in a line can demonstrate something useful. But so would a breathalyzer. The false positives is the problem because they're being used to illegitimately subject innocent people to criminal charges.
kcb|1 year ago
ryandrake|1 year ago
By the time the police are commanding you to do a field sobriety test, they have already decided to charge you with DUI. There is literally nothing you can do during the test to change their mind. It's a formality, and the "test" is vague enough that the officer can cite any little twitch or misstep as "evidence" that you failed the test.
If you pass a breathalyzer test (blow under the limit), and they still want to charge you with DUI, they will likely do a field sobriety test because the results are non-numeric and are subjective. Heck, you can blow 0.0 and still get arrested for DUI[1][2], and if you tell the world about it, the police will sue you for defamation[3].
1: https://reason.com/2024/02/14/iowa-cops-arrested-a-sober-col...
2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGWSbAHaHUw
3: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/10/02/after-traffic-sto...
bongodongobob|1 year ago