The Tests Administered For A DWAI Drug Charge Are The Same As Those For DWI

Interviewer: Do they administer the same sort of tests when it comes to drugs, when someone is suspected of drugs, do they take the same kind of tests, or do they change them a little bit?

Michael Kramer: By and large, they administer the same type tests although technically there is a somewhat different protocol if drugs are suspected. When you are arrested on suspicion of drug use, ideally the police should call a drug recognition officer, someone who is specifically trained to detect drugs in persons by observing them and conducting particular field sobriety tests. Most police officers are not trained in this specialty and therefore wind up employing the same tests.in drug cases as in alcohol.

Canine Units May be Employed to Discover Concealed Drugs in the Automobile

Interviewer: Do they use canine units or drug recognition experts at that point?

Michael Kramer: Canine units can be employed if they suspect the drugs are somewhere secreted in the automobile and the motorist is not admitting to their existence. They usually threaten to bring in a canine unit which causes the motorist to feel ‘What the heck, I might as well admit that I have drugs in the car. ‘But often times it is a bluff. Calling in a canine unit is an inconvenience and not every small town or village has such a unit, so it is usually an empty threat.

It is Better to Submit to A Field Sobriety Test On a First Offense DWAI Drug Charge

Interviewer: What if someone refuses, you said that if someone refuses the field sobriety test, they have to give a reason later on. Do you recommend that someone actually do that?

Michael Kramer: They have the right to refuse but later on if the case is contested at a trial, that refusal will be used against a motorist by a prosecutor arguing that if they were not impaired in some way, they would have taken the tests. Even though the tests are rather unreliable, if it’s a first offense, better to submit to the field sobriety tests on the off chance that you may pass the test and be on your way. If you refuse the test, you know you are going to be arrested for sure.

It is Imperative to Inform the Police Officer of the Infirmity Before Refusing a Test

Interviewer: What if I refuse the test because I have a messed up knee or something like that?

Michael Kramer: Well you have to then make that infirmity known, make the police officer aware of that infirmity beforehand and he will then conduct other tests that he feels are more appropriate.

The Police Have the Right To Search an Individual’s Car Under Two Legal Principles

Interviewer: If I’m stopped and suspected of DWAI Drugs. Do the police have the right to search and investigate my car?

Michael Kramer: The police have the right to search your car under two legal principles. If the police smell marijuana for example, they have probable cause to then search for it and secondly if the police develop probable cause to arrest you, based upon their observations of you or the results of the field sobriety tests or your admission that you just smoked marijuana.