Illinois Supreme Court Takes a Sober Look at DUI Evidence
Beyond a reasonable doubt? That's the purported burden of criminal prosecutors to prove their case, yet in many states DUI charges often are based on field sobriety tests with reliability ranging from only 65 percent to 77 percent - leaving plenty of room for doubt. That may change in Illinois.
While the courts in most states accept the results of such questionable tests as evidence, the Illinois Supreme Court has remanded a case to the trial court to determine the reliability of on such test, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test.
The HGN test is used by law enforcement to determine the level of alcohol in a suspect's system based on eye movement or jerking. However, there are more than 40 different factors other than alcohol use that can cause such sudden eye movement. These include head trauma, flashing lights and motion sickness, as well as numerous medical conditions. It is critical that we balance the demand for enforcement of our drunken driving laws with appropriate standards of evidence in the prosecution of the accused, as promised by our justice system.
"HGN testing appears to have as many critics as it does champions," wrote Illinois' High Court last October as it reversed and remanded the case back to a Peoria trial court. In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court reasoned that the dispute over the reliability of HGN tests is sufficient enough that the trial court must hold a hearing to determine whether the tests are scientifically valid. This is a first in Illinois, and places the state among a handful in which the admissibility of HGN tests as evidence of DUI remains undecided. Only three states - Kansas, Mississippi and Pennsylvania - have ruled these tests inadmissible; another 40 states have ruled the tests admissible.
Prior to the Illinois ruling, the last hearing to determine the reliability of the HGN test was held in Washington State in 2000.
For DUI representation in Illinois, contact Joseph P. McCaffery & Associates with offices in Aurora, Chicago and Quincy, Illinois.
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12/26/2008 10:47 AM
The Law Blog - Joseph P McCaffery wrote:
If you're planning a New Year's Eve celebration that involves alcohol, you may be one of the first to face Illinois' new DUI laws. Beginning January 1, 2009, Illinois drivers face tough changes to the state’s DUI laws affecting first-time DUI offenders... -
2/10/2008 4:44 PM
The Law Blog - Joseph P McCaffery wrote:
In Wisconsin, Scott D. Hirschey, 44, of Crystal Lake, Ill., faces a charge of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in the January snowmobile crash that killed WBBM-TV News Anchor Randy Salerno, 45. According to news reports, Hirschey is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Monday.
This is interesting because we want to get drunk drivers off the road but the flashing police car lights might cause the problem with the eyes. Please post an update when the court makes a final decision. Thanks.
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Why don't all traffic police carry breath-testing equipment to use at the roadside to use as grounds for arrest and then follow up with a bloodtest performed at the police station/office/labs by a suitably qualified person.
I thought relying tests of walking a straight line and the look of the eyes were only used long ago before suitably reliable technology was introduced.
Fortunately, I have never been stopped by US traffic police and I currently live in the UK, so my experience is perhaps not typical of Illinois!
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Vince, that is also the case in the USA. The portable breath tester (PBT)used by law enforcement at the scene of the stop, however, is always optional to the driver in Illinois, as the portable breath tester unit is less reliable than the better-calibrated breath unit at the station.
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