The court ruled recently that Peoria County Judge Jerelyn Maher improperly allowed the results of a horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test to be used in a drunken driving trial without first hearing testimony as to whether the test passes scientific muster, the Peoria Journal Star said Wednesday. The HGN test checks to see if a person can follow a pen or a finger smoothly.

Michael Rickgauer, the attorney who filed the appeal, said the test's methodology is subjective because there is no way to quantify the results .

In Tennessee, a similar court decision resulted in prosecutors using the test less frequently. They must also go through more legal hoops to have the results admitted, the newspaper said.