Do I have a right to an attorney when I am stopped & asked to take a field sobriety test?

The simple answer is no, but the real answer is, don’t ever take field sobriety tests, period. That’s whether you’ve been drinking or not, whether you have had one drink or many drinks or no drinks, because those tests are designed to have everybody who takes them flunk. They are almost impossible to pass, the police use those tests in order to gain evidence against people, both people who are drunk under the law and people who are innocent, and it’s really a shame. The field sobriety tests have some credibility under certain circumstances, but I advise my clients, my friends, my family, never to take field sobriety tests and you’d be well advised to follow that advice.

By Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A.