DUI

DUI INTRODUCTION

The DUI laws in Florida are tough.  But what is even tougher are the penalties for DUI including those who have committed their first offense.  Let's be clear, however,r when talking about DUI's the law is not ignorant to the fact that one can be DUI with no alcohol involved.Remember the term DUI means Driving Under the Influence.  There is nothing that says exclusive to alcohol. Which mean you can be under the influence of controlled substances or chemical substances: including Marijuana, Cocaine, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Soma, Lorazepam, Alprazolam [XANAX], Morphine, etc., A breath test does not determine whenter an indivual is under the inflcne of controlled substances, however urine or blood does.. If you smoke marijuana and drive and a police officer has a reasonable articulate suspicion to pull you over either for possible DUI [weaving between lines] or even a tag light out and that officer can either smell marijuana in the car or notice you have signs of impairment: red bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, thick tongue, messy appearance, slowed motor coordination etc., an officer may then have suspicion that you are under the influence of controlled substance. The officer then has the right  to ask you to perform field sobriety exercises and urine test. 

FIELD SOBRIETY EXERCISES

 What are filed sobriety exercises:

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) guidelines were created to help make these exercises more accurate. They are now called 'standardized field sobriety tests.'

The general tests administered are the following:

• The one-leg stand

• Walk and Turn, and

• Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. HGN:

What is HGN: 

Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking or bouncing of the eyeball that occurs when there is a disturbance of the vestibular (inner ear) system or the oculomotor control of the eye. Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) refers to a lateral or horizontal jerking when the eye gazes to the side. In the impaired driving context, alcohol consumption or consumption of certain other central nervous system depressants, inhalants or phencyclidine, hinders the ability of the brain to correctly control eye muscles, therefore causing the jerk or bounce associated with HGN. As the degree of impairment becomes greater, the jerking or bouncing, i.e. the nystagmus, becomes more pronounced. This is assessed in the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. Usually an officer will assess the HGN on a  point or clue scale for instance the driver may be assessed 6 out of 6 clues. If a Florida officer was certified as a DRE Drug Recognition Expert his testimony in court regarding the  HGN would be admitted however Courts are allowing officers to testify to HGN without having the certification.
 
Some people have natural HGN. 
 
The NHTSA stands firm on its findings that alcohol-impaired persons show clear signs of altered nystagmus. Sound research by public interest groups cite a range of physical disabilities that can cause the same impaired nystagmus reactions:
- car or motion sickness or other illnesses such as a cold or flu that affect the sinuses
- eye disease or abnormalities
- contact lenses
- ear infections
- sunstroke
- eye muscle fatigue, such as created by long hours of driving
- vertigo
- medications or ingredients that are acceptable to use while driving, including caffeine, nicotine, aspirin, and cold remedies
- congenital defects
- as a side-effect of neurologic disease.

Officers do ask as part of their questioning for DUI whether a person wears contacts.  However as stated above there are instances where no alcohol or controlled or chemical substances were involved and the person has the above disorders.  That is why there are other exercises such as the Standardized and Non Standardized to determine if the person is DUI.  You may want to ask your doctor to check your eyes for HGN next time your in for a visit.  A neurologist would also check for HGN.

Officers may, however, also administer non-standardized tests, which might include:

• Stand with feet together and tip the head backwards

• Count the number of fingers that the officer raises

• Recite the alphabet or a portion of it

• Count backwards

• Rhomberg stationary balance test: the driver stands, feet together, and leans the head back to look up at the sky while holding their arms out to the side

• Finger-to-nose: this requires the driver might to close his or her eyes and bring the finger around to touch the nose

• Hand-pat test: the driver is asked to extend a hand in front, palm upwards. The other hand is then placed on top of the first hand, palm downwards. The driver then 'pats' the lower hand with the upper hand by rotating it, so that first the lower hand is patted with the palm of the upper hand and then with the back of the upper hand.