The DUI Officer and Selective Memory
Information courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
How does a police officer testifying in a drunk driving trial recall every detail of a DUI inverstigation months earlier?
When an officer stops a motorist and suspects that he may be under the influence of alcohol, he begins to mentally record various observations. Was the driving erratic, and in what way? What was his reaction to the red overhead lights? How did he pull over and park? Was there an odor of alcohol on the drivers breath, and how strong? Could it have come from the passenger? Was the drivers face flushed, eyes bloodshot, speech thick and slurred? How did he respond to questions and directions? What were his answers to questions such as "Where are you going? What time is it? Have you been drinking? What? When? Where? How much?" Did he have a current license and registration? Did he fumble with his wallet pulling out his license? Stagger when stepping from the car? What did the passenger say? How did she appear? And so on.
Then there are the DUI field sobriety tests. How did he perform in the walk-and-turn test? Did he understand the instructions? Did he start before I told him to? How many steps out? How did he turn? How many steps back? Which, if any, of the 18 steps were off the line? Where did they land? Which, if any, were not heel-to-toe? Was he using his arms for balance? Did he say anything during the test?
And the other three or four drunk driving field tests. In the "horizontal gaze nystagmus" ("Follow my pen with your eyes without moving your head") test, was there "smooth pursuit" of the right eyeball? What did it look like? How many times was it given? Did "onset" of nystagmus occur before 45 degrees? At what degree? Was I able to see the white of the eye at the extreme range of the eye? Was there "distinct nystagmus" at this extreme? And what about all these observations in the left eye?
And maybe two or three other field sobriety tests. And then the arrest and the breath test at the station: What was the procedure used to administer the test? What