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NE: Field sobriety test must be based on reasonable suspicion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A traffic stop is probable cause for the stop, but reasonable suspicion of being under the influence is required for a field sobriety test. State v. Royer, 276 Neb. 173, 2008 Neb. LEXIS 115 (July 18, 2008) [F]ield sobriety tests may be justified by a police officer's reasonable suspicion based upon specific articulable facts that the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In determining the reasonableness of a search for purposes of the Fourth Amendment, the court balances the intrusion upon an individual's privacy with the need to promote governmental interests. See State v. McKinney, 273 Neb. 346, 730 N.W.2d 74 (2007). State v. McKinney, supra, set out the balancing test for determining the reasonableness of a search, and other courts have applied a similar test to determine the reasonableness of a field sobriety test...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 21, 2008 (boomark / email).