By: Jesse Lange, SW&L Criminal Defense Team
SW&L Criminal Defense Team Lawyers Jesse Lange and Adam Justinger with National College for DUI Defense faculty members Don Ramsell (left), Shelly Behan (center), and Anthony Palacios (right).
If you’ve been charged with a DUI, chances are you took the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The SFSTs were originally developed through research sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the late 1970s, but they are still routinely used to justify DUI arrests all over the United States.
The SFSTs consist of three separate tests that must be administered and evaluated exactly the same way each and every time. In other words, officers are required to administer these tests according to NHTSA’s standardized methods and to score them using only NHTSA’s standardized clues of impairment.
Because the SFSTs play a central role in virtually every DUI case, an effective defense requires an attorney who fully understands these tests and their limitations. This knowledge is key to cross-examining the arresting officer and exposing weaknesses in the government’s case.
At SW&L Attorneys, we take DUI defense extremely seriously. Although we have collectively cross-examined officers on the SFSTs hundreds, if not thousands of times, my colleague Adam Justinger and I are always looking for ways to add to our skill set. To that end, we recently spent three days in Buffalo, NY, taking the same 24-hour NHTSA-approved course that law enforcement officers take to learn the SFSTs. This hands-on training through the National College for DUI Defense enhances our ability to challenge the validity of these tests and better protect our clients’ rights.
A DUI conviction can have serious consequences. Make sure you hire an experienced attorney to handle your defense. To get in touch with our criminal defense team, call (701) 297-2890, or email [email protected].
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