DUI Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Catalina Foothills Arizona AZ

Reader’s Question:

When I was arrested for DUI in Catalina Foothills, Arizona, I really got curious when the officer did a so-called nystagmus test. I heard that nystagmus can be caused by other factors. What are these factors that may be able to help me in my defense?

Rae

Catalina Foothills, AZ

As police officers and certain studies claim, the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) helps police officers correctly determine motorists who are under the influence of alcohol. The HGN is based on a theory that that alcohol affects the automatic tracking mechanisms of the eyes and nystagmus is defined as “an involuntary rapid movement of the eyeball, which may be horizontal, vertical, rotatory, or mixed.” Alcohol would slow down the eyes’ ability to rapidly track objects and causes to eyes to jerk or oscillate before they normally would in a sober person.

Nystagmus could be caused by many other factors such as problems in an individual’s inner ear labyrinth. As a matter of fact, irrigating the ears with warm water or cold water would be a source of error. There are also other physiological problems such as certain kinds of diseases that could result in gaze nystagmus. Streptococcus, influenza, vertigo, infections, syphilis, measles, muscular dystrophy, arteriosclerosis, Korsakoff’s Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, brain hemorrhage and other psychogenic disorders all have been shown to cause nystagmus. All of these and other conditions may result in gaze nystagmus that you could be able to use as a defense in your DUI case in Catalina Foothills, Arizona.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests