Can a driver being investigated for a DUI actually “pass” a field sobriety test? Once an officer has smelled alcohol on your breath you can pretty much bet that you will be arrested for DUI. The key word is “pass.” The officer who smelled the alcohol on your breath decides whether you did well enough to drive home or be driven in handcuffs to the local police substation. Everything is controlled by the arresting officer, the stop, the test, the words in the police report and the recommendation of what crimes to charge. It is a subjective test. Many drivers are told by the “arresting” officers that they did well on the Field Sobriety Test only to later read a police report detailing how poorly they actually performed.
I’ve even had DUI clients tell me that the officer told them that the prosecutor would probably dismiss the case. Question: Why would the officer make the arrest in the first place if they knew the case would later be dismissed?
