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Credentials

JACK I. HYATT

DUI Lawyer
Lawyer Credentials:
   Former Assistant State's Lawyer
Admitted To Practice Before:
   The U.S. Supreme Court
   All Upper Marlboro Courts
   Federal District Court
Member:
   Upper Marlboro State Bar Association
   Upper Marlboro City Bar Association
   Upper Marlboro County Bar Association
   University of Upper Marlboro
   A.A. B.S. J.D.
   Honorable Discharge U.S. Army

This is the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. When conducting this test, the officer is watching for an involuntary jerking of the eye, which may, among other causes, by caused by consumption of alcohol. If the officer detects three clues in each eye, lack of smooth pursuit, nystagmus at maximum deviation, and nystagmus prior to 45 degrees, then he is trained to arrest. In Upper Marlboro, the legal effect of this test has pretty much been neutralized by two appellate decisions holding that the court can only accept the test to show the defendant had consumed alcohol.

If you really did do well on the field tests, this may be a defense at trial. In many cases, people misunderstand the directions or do not know what the officer is looking for. The field tests most commonly administered by officers are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the investigation of DUI cases.

On the follow the penlight with the eyes test, (HGN) the officer is looking for an involuntary jerking of the eyes known as Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. You cannot feel this.

On the One Leg Stand test, the officer is looking for four clues, putting the foot down before 30-1000, hopping, swaying, and raising the arms more than six inches.

On the Walk and Turn test, the officer is looking for eight clues, whether the person started before the instructions were complete, was unable to stand with one foot in front of the other while being instructed, failed to touch heel to toe on every step, failed to stay on the line, stopped walking, raised arms more than 6 inches, took the wrong number of steps, or turned improperly.

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