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What Is a Penlight Field Sobriety Test Free Advice Law Advice Insurance Advice Community Law Advice Free Case Evaluation Ask a Lawyer Q amp A Legal Topics All Legal Topics Accident Law Bankruptcy Law Business Law Criminal Law Employment Labor Law Estate Planning Family Law Financial Law General Practice Government Law Immigration Law Insurance Law Intellectual Property Litigation Malpractice Law Personal Injury Real Estate Law Tax Law Small Claims Admiralty Maritime Aviation Law Criminal Law Topics All Criminal Law Topics Criminal Law BasicsArrests And SearchesDrug CrimesDrunk DrivingState Marijuana Laws Parole ProbationViolent CrimesWhite Collar Crimes Property CrimesJuvenile Law Free Advice Law Advice Criminal Law Drunk Driving Current Page I was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint and the officer used a penlight What is a penlight sobriety test and how does it work Written by FreeAdvice Staff Free Case Evaluation Get a FREE Case Evaluation From An Experienced DUI DWI Attorney If you were stopped at a roadside DUI checkpoint and an officer moved a penlight in front of your face and asked you to follow it with your eyes this is the horizontal gaze nystagmus test which is supposed to test for being under the influence of alcohol The officer attempts to estimate the angle at which the eye begins to jerk nystagmus is medical jargon for eye jerking if this occurs sooner than degrees it theoretically indicates an excessive blood alcohol concentration BAC The smoothness of how the eye tracks the penlight or finger or pencil is also a factor as is the jerking of the eye when it is as far to the side as it can go This field sobriety test has proven to be subject to a number of different problems not the least of which is that the officer is not medically trained and therefore does not have a strong ability to recognize nystagmus and estimate the angle of onset Because of this and the fact that the medical community does not accept the horizontal gaze nystagmus test it is not admissible as evidence in many states It continues however to be widely used by law enforcement Have your case evaluated by an EXPERIENCED DUI ATTORNEY It's free and there is no obligation Sponsored Form Name Current Address Select Your State Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Main Phone Number Alternate Phone optional Email Address Priors Have you received a prior DUI conviction Yes No Problem Briefly describe your problem optional Year What is the current year Used to block spam Click the blue bar and complete a short form to get 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