Simple legal question, re: field sobriety tests

youtalkfunny · #1 02-06-2006, 05:04 AM

I don't know why I think of this stuff while lying awake in bed (or why I feel the need to get out of bed to post it), but here goes:

Let's say I'm stopped for suspicion of DUI. The officer asks me to step out of the car, and I do. He then instructs me to say the alphabet backwards, or walk the white line.

What happens if I refuse to do these tasks?

I understand that refusing to take the Breath-alyzer is illegal, and for that I can be charged with a crime. But is refusing the field test a crime?

For the curious, sorry, but this is only hypothetical.

billygrippo · #2 02-06-2006, 05:06 AM

i would think they would take you to jail for a dui.

Scotch78 · #3 02-06-2006, 05:13 AM

In general, if an officer has probable cause he will ask you to take a breathalyzer, refusal of which usually carries a penalty. If he asks you to take a field sobriety test, he is most likely doing so to achieve probable cause for the breathalyzer. I am unaware of any penalties for refusing the field sobriety test (I am positive that Ohio has none), so submitting to the field sobriety test is second in stupidity only to driving drunk in the first place.

Scott

BCPVP · #4 02-06-2006, 05:22 AM

Isn't refusal to cooperate with a LEO illegal?

youtalkfunny · #5 02-06-2006, 05:26 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't refusal to cooperate with a LEO illegal?

[/ QUOTE ]

You have the right to remain silent. You don't have to offer evidence against yourself.

But you are required to submit to fingerprinting, and there are other situations where you ARE required to give self-incriminating evidence.

That's pretty much the point of the question, where the line is drawn.

BCPVP · #6 02-06-2006, 05:32 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Isn't refusal to cooperate with a LEO illegal?

[/ QUOTE ]

You have the right to remain silent. You don't have to offer evidence against yourself.

[/ QUOTE ]
Here's a link with some info from Alabama. I'd guess it might vary from state to state.

youtalkfunny · #7 02-06-2006, 05:48 AM

[ QUOTE ]
...you are under no obligation to submit to field sobriety testing whatsoever. You can refuse to perform any so called field sobriety test, and no crime has been committed.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the word in Alabama. Probably universal.

Thanks for the link.

BCPVP · #8 02-06-2006, 05:59 AM

[ QUOTE ]
That's the word in Alabama. Probably universal.

[/ QUOTE ]
Not so fast.
http://jec.unm.edu/resources/benchbo...i/ch_2.htm#244
Specifically,
[ QUOTE ]
A refusal, however, presents the officer with a dilemma. What will the officer use to establish probable cause to arrest? Can the refusal be used for that purpose? It appears that it can. The New Mexico Supreme Court has stated that a refusal is "conduct indicating a consciousness of guilt." McKay v. Davis, 99 N.M. 29, 32 (1982). If this is so, then the officer can use her observations of the defendant's driving, physical characteristics (speech, eyes, fumbling, etc.) and refusal to take the field sobriety tests to establish probable cause. If the totality of all of these circumstances would lead the officer to believe that a crime has been committed, then probable cause to arrest exists.

[/ QUOTE ]

So it appears you can be arrested IF the officer has other observations about you that would leave him to believe you're under the influence, of which refusal to cooperate is one.

Leaky Eye · #9 02-06-2006, 06:22 AM

You can always be arrested. His question was whether refusing the test was a further crime.

I believe the answer to that is no, but I am just some dude on the internet.

BCPVP · #10 02-06-2006, 06:32 AM

[ QUOTE ]
You can always be arrested. His question was whether refusing the test was a further crime.

I believe the answer to that is no, but I am just some dude on the internet.

[/ QUOTE ]
According to what I've just read, no, it's not a "crime", but it will probably be used against you in court if there were was more evidence to provide probable cause.