What should I do if I am asked to take a field sobriety test in Florida?
If you’re stopped by an officer and asked to take a field sobriety test, the officer already believes that you are under the influence of alcohol. They will take things like an observation of your eyes. Are they bloodshot and watery? Do you smell like alcohol? Is your clothing disheveled? Are you able to locate your driver’s license and your registration easily?
By the time they get to the field sobriety test, the only thing the officer is doing is gathering evidence for trial. You can decline the field sobriety test. They’re called field sobriety exercises in a courtroom, because they’re not allowed to call them tests. Certainly, you may decline it, and I advise my clients to decline it. Why give more evidence to convict towards trial, when we can go ahead and cut the evidence down, and the burden of proof always remains on the State Attorney’s Office. It’s their job to bring the evidence that you’ve done something wrong. Not your job to prove that you didn’t.
