Field Sobriety Tests

Drunk Driving & Drug Related Driving Charges In New York State

Mayo Bartlett is a Field Sobriety Test Attorney who has the experience and dedication that you or your loved one needs on their side when facing DWI, DUI, DWAI and related charges. Mayo is a former Westchester County prosecutor who served more than 10 years in the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office in White Plains New York. Mayo has also been a Criminal Defense Lawyer and Field Sobriety Test Lawyer since 2003, and he has a thorough understanding of police procedure from years spent working with police officers and detectives throughout Westchester County, Putnam County, New York City and the Hudson Valley. 

Mayo Bartlett was featured in the Journal News in a front page story entitled “Drunken driving: What you need to know during the holidays” which focused on the impact DWI arrests have on people and describes the hardships that one may encounter as a result of drinking and driving, or of being arrested even though one was not impaired.


Mayo Bartlett puts his clients first. Mayo has won the 10 Best Client Satisfaction Award from the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys, and he was selected the AVVO Client’s Choice for DUI defense. He was also selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers, and as a Super Lawyer. In fact, Mayo is honored to have been featured on the cover of the New York Metro 2020 Super Lawyers Magazine as seen below.

Super lawyers the world turned upside down poster

Our Field Sobriety Tests Lawyers have decades of experience scrutinizing these subjective examinations. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing is based on subjective assessments made by the police officer who conducts the tests. The results of the Field Sobriety Tests are routinely used by police officers as their probable cause to make a DWI arrest. Consequently, the testing must be carefully analyzed to determine if it was conducted in accordance with protocols.

Police officers are trained to conduct the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Thus, if the tests are not properly conducted, the results may be invalid. Police officers are taught from manuals that are published by the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration. Our Field Sobriety Defense Attorneys scrutinize police records and video to challenge field sobriety test results as part of a thorough drunk driving defense.

Our Field Sobriety Test Lawyers pay particular attention to field sobriety tests administered by members of law enforcement in connection with Driving While Impaired by Drugs such as Marihuana. Although Marihuana remains in a person’s body for a substantial number of weeks, the presence of Marihuana alone is not sufficient to support a conviction of Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs. In these cases it is imperative that there be other indicia of impairment, such as the inability to successfully perform field sobriety tests.

Field Sobriety Tests

We are experienced Field Sobriety Defense Lawyers who defend our clients who have been charged with DWI and DWI related offense. We will investigate each and every aspect of your case and we will look into whether the police followed proper police procedure that resulted in your arrest.

As part of our representation, we will analyze all field sobriety tests that may have been administered. Field sobriety tests may involve various attention and balancing tests. There are three generally accepted Field Sobriety Tests. These tests include the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), The One Leg Stand, and the Walk and Turn.

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) is an exam in which a police officer uses either a pen or other object to track the movement of your eyes as they follow the device to determine whether there is an involuntary jerking of the eyes. The One Leg Stand more or less speaks for itself. It is a test in which you must stand on one leg for thirty seconds while maintaining balance and counting to 30. Finally, the Walk & Turn, requires the person to walk heel to toe on a straight line for without staggering or falling.

Each of these Field Sobriety Tests must be conducted under very specific conditions, and even the most seemingly minor transgression may prove fatal to the integrity of the exam. If the Walk and Turn or One Leg Stand tests are not performed on a flat, level and clear surface, they may be deemed flawed by a judge or jury. Similarly, if the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus is conducted near interfering lights such as the headlights of a police cruiser the integrity of the test may be compromised. In our experience as a Field Sobriety Test Law Firm, these conditions are rarely, if ever, precisely followed.

Moreover, it may be to your benefit if the arresting officer did not ask if the you had a medical condition or physical impairment which would prevent you from passing the tests even if they were properly performed. Physical conditions that may prevent a person from passing these tests include vision problems, recent concussions, muscular skeletal developmental disabilities, vertigo, cold and allergies, Neurological disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and other ailments. 

We will inquire as to whether the police were properly trained and whether they remember their training. As a former Westchester County District Attorney, and current Driving While Intoxicated Attorney, he has handled thousands of DWI, DWAI, and DWAI Drug cases and has successfully provided criminal defense to his clients which have resulted in many felony charges being reduced to misdemeanors, or had them dismissed entirely. 

Mayo Bartlett is a DWI trial attorney and he has extensive criminal trial experience in New York State and Federal Courts. He is familiar with the multiple aspects of handling Driving While Intoxicated and Driving Under the Influence related cases from the investigative stage through trial. Our Driving While Intoxicated attorneys work frequently with private investigators and forensic experts who form our Driving While Intoxicated Defense team to provide you with the best defense. 

Field Sobriety Tests are particularly important given the legalization of recreational use of Marihauna (Cannabis) in New York State and surrounding states. Often, if Standardized Field Sobriety Tests are not administered properly, there will be little or no corroborating evidence that a person operated a motor vehicle while impaired by Marihuana (Cannabis).

We Assist Our Clients With the Following DWI Related Matters:

  • DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired By Alcohol)
  • DWI (Driving While Intoxicated)
  • DUI (Driving Under the Influence)
  • DWAI Drugs (Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs)
  • Driving While Under the Influence of Marihuana
  • DWI Refusal Hearings (Chemical Test Refusal)
  • Multiple DWI Consequences
  • DWI Felonies
  • Leandra’s Law
  • Ignition Interlock Devices (IID)
  • Conditional Licenses
  • Driver Responsibility Assessments
  • Hardship Licenses
  • Impaired Driver Program or IDP (Formerly known as the Drinking Driver Program or DDP)
  • Field Sobriety Tests
  • Aggravated DWI
  • Texting While Driving
  • Vehicular Homiside
  • Vehicular Assault
  • Reckless Driving
  • Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Accident [Vehicle and Traffic Law 600(2)]
  • Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident [Vehicle and Traffic Law 600(1)] 

With offices located in the Westchester Financial Center which is one block from the White Plains Train Station and bus depot, and two blocks from the Westchester County Court, our Field Sobriety Test Defense Attorneys handle all DWI felonies and misdemeanors in New York State Courts in New York City, Westchester County, including White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Rye, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Armonk, Chappaqua, Greenburgh, Elmsford, Valhalla, Pleasantville, Bedford, Katonah, Somers, Cortlandt, Croton on Hudson, Southeast, Brewster, Pelham, Putnam Valley, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Mount Pleasant, Bronxville, Eastchester, Hastings, Poughkeepsie, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Hartsdale, Harrison, Mount Vernon, Port Chester, Somers, Yorktown, Ossining, Mount Kisco, Lagrangeville, New City, Spring Valley, Nanuet, Nyack, Katonah, Kingston, New Paltz, New Castle, North Castle, Lewisboro, South Salem, North Salem, Clarkstown, Briarcliff, Ardsley, Irvington, Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Tuckahoe, Putnam County, Dutchess County, Rockland County, Ulster County and throughout the Hudson Valley, let us help you in your time of need.

Mayo appeared almost every week on a legal panel featured on Richard French Live which is available on WRNN. The show wass taped live every Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 7:00 p.m. and airs throughout New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, including the five boroughs of New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, the Washington DC Metro Area, Dallas, Houston, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii.

If you or someone you know is in need of legal representation in a Driving While Intoxicated related matter, don’t hesitate, contact our Field Sobriety Lawyers now to begin the fight to protect your assets, seek justice, and to keep your freedom.

Protect yourself…Protect your license…Don’t Drink and Drive.