It's not as easy as you might think for the Police to make a DUI arrest

As a former police officer in South Carolina, I made my fair share of DUI arrests. From the outside, it might look simple: pull someone over, run a few field sobriety tests, and make an arrest. But the truth is, it’s far more complicated than that. Every DUI investigation is filled with small details—details that can make or break a case. One of the most misunderstood parts of a DUI stop is how environmental factors and officer mistakes can influence the outcome. A perfect example is the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, the one where the officer asks you to follow a pen or light with your eyes. It’s considered one of the most “scientifically valued” tests by officers in the field because it detects tiny, involuntary jerking movements in the eyes that can indicate impairment. But here’s the problem—this test is extremely sensitive to outside influences. If an officer forgets to turn off the patrol car’s front flashing lights, it can completely alter the results. The strobe effect from those flashing lights can cause the very same eye movements the test is designed to detect. That means what looks like “failing” the test might actually be caused by poor lighting, not alcohol. It’s a small detail, but it reveals a big truth: DUI cases are rarely clear-cut. Having worked both sides of the aisle—as an officer enforcing the law and now as a defense attorney protecting clients’ rights—I can tell you that the smallest oversight can have massive consequences in a DUI case. Whether it’s improper test conditions, bad video evidence, or incorrect procedural steps, these errors happen more often than people think. That’s why a strong defense starts with a careful review of every step the officer took. When your freedom and reputation are on the line, you need someone who knows how DUI investigations really work—from the inside out.