Field sobriety tests are investigative tools used in many OUI arrests. Their administration and interpretation should be examined rather than treated as automatic proof of impairment.
Last reviewed: August 20, 2026
Surface, lighting, footwear, weather, instructions, physical conditions, age, anxiety, and officer demonstration can affect performance.
Body-camera, cruiser, business, or roadside video may allow the defense to compare the officer’s written characterization with what actually occurred.
Field tests should be analyzed alongside driving evidence, observations, statements, chemical testing, timelines, and alternative explanations.
OUI investigations commonly use standardized field sobriety exercises. The defense should review officer training, instructions, demonstration, scoring and whether the testing conditions allowed the exercises to be performed as intended.
Footwear, injuries, age, balance problems, fatigue, weather, lighting, road surface and traffic can affect performance. Body-camera or cruiser video often provides a better basis for evaluating those conditions than the narrative report alone.
Officers may use observations or exercises beyond the standardized battery. Those observations can still become evidence, but they should not be presented as though they carry the same standardized validation.
Driving behavior, speech, odor, statements, chemical testing and video may all be considered. We evaluate whether the pieces actually support one another or whether the report overstates what the recordings show.
Before choosing a strategy, we want the charging document, police reports, court notices and any release or protective-order paperwork. We also want the client’s complete account while events are still fresh, including facts that may be uncomfortable or seem unimportant. From there we identify evidence that can disappear: video, messages, photographs, location information, receipts, medical records and witnesses. We compare that material with the State’s version and separate three questions: what can the State legally use, what can it actually prove, and what facts about the client and the situation matter to the best lawful resolution.
Do not delete messages, posts, photographs or other potential evidence. Do not contact witnesses to persuade them what to say, and do not discuss the facts on social media. Follow every release condition and court order exactly as written. If police or an investigator asks for an interview, additional consent or access to a device, get legal advice before making a decision.
A written report tells us how the officer characterized the tests. Video lets us see what actually happened. We compare the officer’s instructions and demonstration with the client’s actual performance, the testing surface, lighting, footwear, weather, physical limitations and any interruptions.
When field sobriety testing is a significant part of the case, we may also obtain the officer’s training records and work with an appropriate expert. The issue is not simply whether the report uses the word “failed.” The issue is whether the testing was performed and interpreted reliably.