Officers across the nation are finding the Seated Battery of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to be extremely useful in detecting and prosecuting impaired operators whether they are on the road or on the water. Law Enforcement Professionals realize that the Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand Tests are not always an option. Road conditions, physical limitations and gross impairment are just some of the factors that limit an officer's ability to gather valuable and important evidence when their training is limited to the standing battery of SFSTs. The demand for training in these tests among specialized traffic units and drug recognition experts will inevitably lead to more of these cases being tried in our nation’s court system. 

Maritime law enforcement professionals will be leading the charge in educating their law enforcement partners and judicial officials on these tests, but their efforts must start with their local prosecutor. A strong prosecutor / officer team is the only way to effectively prosecute impaired operators who are threatening our constituents on the road and on the water. This session will cover common defense tactics to the Seated Battery of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and how through teamwork and prior planning we can meet these challenges. Catching impaired operators and "getting them off the water' is not enough. 

To effectively change the attitude about impaired operation in our country we must be able to convict the subjects who make the choice to operate under the influence of an impairing substance. This can be extremely difficult to do if your psycho physical tests are not admitted as evidence at trial.