Feburary 3, 2016 This week in Gay Palm Springs

The Anatomy of a DUI
An Overview of Alcohol
By Manuel J. Barba,
DUI Defense Attorney
instruct the subject to follow the stimulus
with his eyes only, not moving his head.
Checking the left eye first, the officer is
trained to slowly move the stimulus towards
the right at a speed that would take approximately
four seconds for the stimulus to
reach the edge of the subject’s shoulder. The
officer is trained to watch the eye carefully
for any sign of jerking to begin. When the
officer observes the jerking begin, he should
stop the movement, verify that the jerking
continues, and note the position where the
jerking began (what degree point). The
officer will then move the stimulus to the
left (to check subject’s right eye) again at a
speed that would take approximately four
seconds for the stimulus to reach the edge of
the subject’s shoulder, and again watch the
eye carefully for any sign of jerking to begin.
When the officer sees the jerking begin, the
officer should stop, verify that the jerking
continues, and note the position where he
observed the jerking begin (what degree
point). This procedure is repeated for a total
of two passes for each eye for this part of the
test.
If the point at which the jerking begins is
prior to 45 degrees (between 0 degrees and
the 45 degree point), then the officer can
score it as a clue. Remember, if the center of
the face is 0 degrees and the tip of the shoulder
is 90 degrees, then 45 degrees will be in
between those two points on an arc (again
think of a protractor).
If the point at which the jerking begins is
either at 45 degrees or after the 45 degree
point (between 45 degrees and the 90 degree
In the last article I discussed procedures
relating to the first two clues of the Horizontal
Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test – Lack of
Smooth Pursuit and Distinct and Sustained
Nystagmus at Maximum Deviation. In this
article I will continue the discussion with
the procedures for the third clue – “Onset of
Nystagmus Prior to 45 Degrees.”
The third clue, “onset of nystagmus prior to
45 degrees, is the point at which the eye is
first observed to begin jerking. It is alleged
by the research studies that if the jerking
begins prior to 45 degrees it is a clue that the
person has a blood alcohol concentration
of 0.08% or above. It is believed that the
higher the amount of alcohol in the subject’s
system, the sooner the nystagmus will be
observable.
Where is 45degrees you might ask? Beginning
with the stimulus properly positioned
at the center of the subject’s nose, this
position is considered 0 degrees. The tip of
the subject’s shoulder would be 90 degrees.
Thus 45 degrees would be in between those
points (think of a protractor).
To perform this part of the test (clue #3), the
officer begins with the stimulus positioned
at the center of the subject’s face with stimulus
positioned 12 to 15 inches away from
the subject’s nose. The officer is trained to point), then the officer should not score it as
Continued on page 45
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