If you’ve been pulled over in Freehold, New Jersey by a police officer while driving a car and he suspects that you’ve been driving while intoxicated, the first thing that that officer will do is ask you to step out of that car. I advise clients as a New Jersey DWI Attorney that just because he suspects that you were under the influence, that is not enough for him to take you down to the station in order to give you the alcohol test. In order for the officer to bring you down to the police station, he must have probable cause or a reasonable belief that you are under the influence of either alcohol or a drug. How does that officer show that probable cause? That’s shown through the psycho-physical tests.
The first psycho-physical test that they will have you test is the HGN test, where they essentially ask you to keep your head in a fixed position and to follow an object with only your eyes. I will advise clients as a New Jersey DWI Attorney that the second test that they will be looking for you to do is the heel-to-toe walk, and the third test that they will be looking for you to do is the one-legged foot raise and if on any of those tests are not done properly by you, they will then have the probable cause necessary to then take you down to the station to administer the alcohol test.
If you have been pulled over for suspected drunk driving and are arrested, contact our experienced New Jersey DWI Attorney.
This informational blog post was provided by Jason A. Volet, an experienced New Jersey DWI Attorney.
About the Author
Jason A. Volet
Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a criminal trial attorney, Jason A. Volet focuses his practice exclusively on criminal and municipal defense in New Jersey and New York. He earned his B.A. in political science from Rutgers College in 1995 and his J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law in 1998. Mr. Volet began his career in the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, where he gained extensive experience prosecuting both juvenile and adult offenders. Now, as a criminal defense attorney, he uses that experience to fight for the rights of individuals who have been charged with a crime.
