Court casts doubt on DUI test

PEORIA, Ill., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- An Illinois Supreme Court ruling could make it harder for prosecutors to use field sobriety test evidence to prosecute alleged drunken driving.

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.