You’ve never sped on an open road? I mean we have people doing 90 on 59 everyday during rush hour. Also the walking the line exam is not a know it all to proving sobriety you should refuse it always. There are always other factors to that test you can have bad ankles or knees and surface can be uneven. You might even have big thighs rubbing against each other preventing you from following one foot over the other. I mean come on their job is not to make you look good.
3 Likes
I watched it. That said, I can’t argue with a blood test.
I’m not sure what happened in the field sobriety test (they are always heavily disputed) but it’s pretty clear nothing was in his system. I don’t see the point in doubting it.
What happened in the field sobriety test is pretty simple, he failed a test that’s designed for people to fail. It’s why any DUI attorney, former police officer/prosecutor when asked would recommend refusing the test, it’s designed for a person to fail even if not impaired and even better it’s completely subjective with the on scene officer.
3 Likes
Have you tried to walk on a straight line? I just tried it and I failed twice and I am very sober. Sobriety tests seem similar to nit-picky rules on the books to give officers any reason to stop you.
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is the best of the Standard Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), in my view.
This link should illustrate why:
https://www.tdcaa.com/resources/dwi/video/
Go to the videos on SFSTs and compare the with nystagmus to without nystagmus videos.
There’s an obvious twitching of the eyeball that prevents smooth pursuit of the pen in anyone under the influence of a central nervous system depressant such as alcohol.
Even professional drunks that really know how to handle their liquor and appear non-intoxicated can’t prevent that involuntary twitching of their eyeballs.
It’s pretty damning when the cops see it during a roadside stop.
While it isn’t enough, by itself, to get a conviction for DWI, it does help to establish probable cause to arrest.
There are, of course, certain neurological conditions that can also cause that nystagmus, but they are uncommon, and without either some good medical records documenting such a condition, or some good expert testimony showing you have such a condition, that HGN test can be tough to dispute.
If the glove don’t fit…you must acquit
1 Like
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Good point . Not as easy as it looks. But I just did better than Ed looked and did it much faster. I am sure if I was drinking much of anything it would be much harder to pass.
It was that clip of that test that was telling me last May that Ed doesn’t look so good and I wasn’t suprised he got arrested with the field test. As I stated, he looked fine with the 1 leg in the air but not so great with the straight line.
As has been mentioned here before, Montgomery County, where Ed was arrested, is a notoriously tough county on alcohol related offenses.
In this case though…the evidence needed to convict just wasn’t there.
As for Kim Ogg…I’d better keep my opinions to myself. In any event, I don’t prosecute in her county.
Geez, not a Harris County resident, but that is nuts. How does a prosecutor stay in business with that operating model?
She;s elected
1 Like
Understood!
But how can she get elected in Texas with that record on crime? Seems like it would be easy to run and defeat such a mindset. The incident you just spoke too should be enough to ruin her reputation.
snow,
Based on the last election, it’s going to be very hard for any non-Democrat to win elected office in Harris County. Heck, even in Fort Bend County there’s been a “blue wave.” Last election, Dems won every judicial race in Fort Bend County except for one JP race. This is certainly a change from the past. I remember back in the late 90s when I was in private practice in Fort Bend County, the Dems often didn’t even have a candidate in most of the judicial races there.
Back on Ogg, perhaps some other Democrat will defeat her in a Dem primary at some point. That’s probably the best bet to unseat her.
agree but then again…it’s Harris County
Glad I don’t live there any more and haven’t for almost 2 decades.
1 Like
Ed’s beef is they should not have pulled him over, maybe the beer
between his legs caused him to maneuver unsafely or maybe they saw
him drinking the beer. Either way I am glad it is not a DWI.
KInd of hard not pull him over when they get a 911 call on him and they witness him going 35 mph over the speed limit. The ticket alone should have cost him a nice fine. Then a open container between the legs which got reported to be on his driver side door. Speeding way above the 20 mph threshold, weaving, an open container and a gun. They needed to do their jobs.
2 Likes
The supposed 911 call said, “driving erratically in a construction zone”. Normal citizens do not make references to instances that double the traffic fine. I would definitely (they probably did) demand to hear the actual call. The traffic laws are designed as a revenue source for municipalities. They are abused constantly.
1 Like
Pulling someone over for going that far over the speed limit would hardly constitute an “abuse.”
But in the end, the DWI and weapon charges for dismissed, so let’s all be happy for Ed in that regard.
Anyone know what a “negative” blood test is for alcohol? I’m used to hearing a percentage, like .08%. Saying negative, to me, implies 0%. With an open beer in the vehicle, I’m not sure I buy that.
1 Like