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If you have been stopped and suspected of DWI, the officer may ask you to perform a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which are designed to provide sufficient evidence for probable cause to arrest. Some of these are designed to test a person's balance or coordination. Others look for physiological signs of impairment, such as Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN). As Thomas A. Corletta, Attorney at Law, a Rochester-based DWI lawyer, explains, this is a scientific, medically-based test administered under roadside conditions, which may yield inaccurate results, especially when conducted by an individual who is not a trained specialist in the medical field.

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HGN attempts to identify the involuntary jerking movement of the eyeball while tracking a moving object. Police officers typically perform three separate tests to identify this involuntary jerking.

Alcohol or drug consumption can cause this jerking, but there are many other causes, which police officers lack proper training to identify. There are also different types of nystagmus, which it takes a trained eye to identify.

When officers are moving pens or flashlights across a driver's field of vision during a stop at roadside, often under darkened conditions, they are making a subjective judgment about any jerking they are seeing, and that is caused by alcohol.

While it does have a strong basis in science, HGN test does have several problems, in that it can be caused by any Central Nervous System depressant, not just alcohol, and there is no correlation between the presence of nystagmus and ability to drive a car. While it is fairly accurate when administered by scientists who know what to look for, police officers lack the medical background or training to perform it effectively. Several studies have found that untrained officers have a very high level of error, usually in the form of false positives.

As one of the area's most experienced DWI lawyers, Thomas A. Corletta, Attorney at Law has the in-depth understanding of the legal system to offer the best defense possible. The consequences of a DWI conviction are severe, which is why you need legal advice from a dedicated legal professional with an established track record of success. Visit his website to see how he can help, or call his office at (585) 546-5072 to schedule a consultation.

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