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Yesterday I was in court where the tape and printed word did not match. But for the fact my client did poorly on 1 of the SFSTS, it would have been a trial. The tape supported a plea to the lesser offense as there was a medical issue surrounding the breath test. A...
Thus spoke the police officer at an MVA Hearing last week. I will have the tape of this admission for the jury trial in Baltimore City. He condensed the HGN exam, because he sometimes does that. He admitted he was not supposed to. Wrong instructions on the Walk and...
The judge today asked the police officer to perform the tests on her exactly as on the client. On the HGN he held the stimulus so high she had to crane her neck. I showed him the NHTSA Manual and he agreed it was held to high. On the one-leg stand he told to hold...
I had an officer on the stand today who did a pretty good job on the SFSTS, but my client is 5’7″ and weighs 265. The officer denied weight could be an issue and then I approached him with the same NHTSA Manual he had for training. I felt like Jack Nicholson in the...
What happens if you are stopped for speeding and the officer detects an odor of an alcoholic beverage? He orders you out of the car. Instead, what if he asks you, while seated in the car, to perform the alphabet and count backwards and you successfully complete...
Twice in the last month in Towson District Court in Baltimore County I have had police officers tell me that their NHTSA Field Sobriety Test Manual doesn’t say what mine says. You think maybe they send one to the police and put extra requirements in the ones they...
Well, after publishing and recalling the new manuals published in February 2006 and then in August 2006, NHTSA has now released the February 2006 manual as its newest. You think that maybe they should have called it the April 2009 DWI Edition (they reference the date...
Most police no longer have the NHTSA Manual they were “certified” on. Those that do don’t bring it to court. I NEVER subpoena the officer to bring his Manual because he can study the Manual before court and “remember” that he gave the precise instructions for each...
Recently in Baltimore County District Court I was able to suppress a stop and the resulting arrest of a client because the Maryland Transportation officer could not prove he had authority to stop my client. The same argument was rejected in Anne Arundel County because...