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In the states that I am aware of, field sobriety tests (FSTs) are voluntary, not mandatory. They are also very subjective. In fact, I will go so far as to say the FSTs are designed for you to fail. It is the police officer's behavioral observations of you that control the situation; not any science at all.
There is no reliable "science" at all behind the administering of field sobriety tests (FSTs).
Even when police officers allegedly follow SFST manual instructions they almost invariably do so incorrectly. Honest reliability of these tests is zero. There are simply too many variables involved in roadside SFST testing.
It is no fluke that one of the alleged developers of SFSTs, Dr. Marcelline Burns, was declared not qualified to testify as an expert witness about the alleged scientific principles behind the HGN (horizontal gaze nystagmus) test [ Lasworth v. State, 42 P. 2d 844 (N.M. App. 2001)]. Further, many courts have ruled that SFSTs given by the arresting officer were not " a scientific procedure", but "simply a behavioral observation on the officer's part" [ Crawford v. City of Forest Park, 215 Ga. App. 234 (1994)].
In addition, I continue to believe that when held at roadside by a police officer for any extended time --- including an SFST --- you are in a " custody" situation which requires constitutional protections ( i. e., right to an attorney, etc.).
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