Every instruction, every test, on the record

The problem

A DUI defense is often an argument about administration rather than about the client. Standardized field sobriety tests have prescribed instructions and prescribed conditions, and departures from them are the substance of the defense. The recording captures all of it — what the officer said, what the client was asked to do, what the surface and lighting were like, how long the officer actually observed before the breath test. But those details are distributed across an encounter that runs far longer than the parts that matter, and the significant departure is often a single sentence of instruction that was skipped.

What to look for

• ✓The instructions actually given before each field sobriety test, word for word
• ✓Whether a demonstration accompanied the instructions, and how it was performed
• ✓Surface, lighting, and roadside conditions visible at the point of testing
• ✓The continuous observation period preceding a breath sample
• ✓Whether the implied consent advisory was read, and in what terms

How CaseCam helps

Rather than scrubbing through a roadside encounter looking for the walk-and-turn instructions, ask for them. CaseCam returns the exchange with a timestamp, so the instruction given can be compared against the instruction required, and the difference located precisely enough to put in front of a judge. The same applies to the observation period, which is a question about elapsed time and continuity rather than about any single event — ask what happened between the stop and the breath sample and the gaps become visible. Because absence is reported rather than glossed over, an instruction that was never given surfaces as clearly as one that was.

Common questions

Can CaseCam show exactly how a field sobriety test was administered?

Yes. Ask about a specific test and CaseCam returns the instructions given and the exchange around them, timestamped, so the administration can be compared against what the standardized procedure requires.

Does CaseCam capture what happened during the observation period?

You can ask what occurred between the stop and the breath sample and get the sequence with timestamps. Because CaseCam reports absence as well as presence, a break in continuous observation shows up as a question answered rather than a gap you have to notice yourself.

Can I check whether the implied consent advisory was read?

Ask directly. If the advisory appears, CaseCam gives the moment and the wording used, which matters because the terms in which it was delivered are frequently as significant as whether it was delivered at all.