Court Opinion

ID: 6781463
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-07-21 00:56:32.886572+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:02:52.491106
License: Public Domain

Rocco, J.,
concurring. I agree with the majority that field sobriety test results can provide probable cause to arrest only if the administering officer strictly complies with the standardized testing procedures. I write separately to emphasize an additional point.
I would extend the court’s holding here to explicitly state that field sobriety test results are admissible at trial only if the officer strictly complied with standardized testing procedures. The majority has demonstrated that the care with which a field sobriety test is administered has a decisive effect on the test’s reliability, and hence its evidentiary value. It seems self-evident to me that if strict compliance with testing procedures is necessary to demonstrate probable cause to arrest, it becomes even more necessary if the tests are to be used to prove guilt.