TOO OLD FOR FIELD SOBRIETY TEST

PULASKI TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A Lawrence County judge has dismissed a drunken driving case against an Ohio woman, ruling she was too old to take a field sobriety test.

Danniel Weaver, of Youngstown, was 59 when she was cited for DUI following an accident on Route 422 in Pulaski Township in February 2010.

According to court records, a police officer asked Weaver to perform four field sobriety tests. She passed three of them, but failed a test requiring her to stand on one leg.

Team 4 investigator Paul Van Osdol reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the one-leg-stand test should not be done on persons over 60.

"The feeling is, if you get to a certain age, that's just not the same kind of indicator of intoxication as it was when you were younger," said John Burkoff, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

In his ruling on the case, Common Pleas Judge Dominick Motto wrote: "Since the tests were not designed for persons above the age of 60, and Ms. Weaver was 59 at the time, and she had just been in a violent automobile collision, the results of Ms. Weaver's single failed field sobriety test should be deemed unreliable."

The police officer also said Weaver had slightly slurred speech and her eyes were "a bit glassy" but the judge ruled that alone was not enough evidence to pursue the DUI case.

Burkoff said the judge's decision does not mean seniors are off the hook if they get behind the wheel, because they can still be given Breathalyzer or blood tests.

"The one impression you shouldn't get is that what the judge was doing was creating some kind of senior discount for DUIs," said Burkoff. "Doesn't exist."

A breath test that was done on Weaver was not submitted as evidence in her case. The reason for that is unclear.

Weaver told Van Osdol that she had no idea that the one-leg-stand test was improper for someone her age.


CAUTION:
AS WE HAVE STATED ON OUR WEB SITES, WE WOULD ALWAYS REFUSE THE FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS. IN OKLAHOMA THEY ARE STRICTLY VOLUNTARY AND ARE DESIGNED FOR FAILURE.

Bruce Edge
Board Certified DUI Defense,
National College DUI Defense according to ABA guidelines
201 W. 5TH Street, Suite 550
Tulsa, OK 74103
918-582-6333
877-DUI-EDGE
www.EdgeLawFirm.com


John Hunsucker
Hunsucker Legal Group
One North Hudson Avenue, Suite 700
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102
405-231-5600,
www.OKDUI.com