A Refusing a Sobriety Test Attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD, Can Help Protect Your Rights After a Roadside Stop
When, during a traffic stop, an officer asks you to step out of the car and complete a few quick tests, you have only seconds to decide whether to comply. Many motorists don’t know whether it’s in their best interests to participate in field sobriety tests or decline them. At Maronick Law LLC, our Maryland field sobriety test refusal lawyers work with drivers who declined those roadside tests and now want to understand what that choice means for their case.
Saying no to field sobriety tests is legal in Maryland, and it carries no automatic penalty. It does not, however, end a DUI or DWI investigation. The officer's next steps, how your refusal was documented, and how the State may try to use your refusal can all shape the charges that follow and your defense strategy.
Contact our team today to schedule a free consultation and talk through what happened during your stop with our experienced refusing a sobriety test attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD.
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443-551-2747Unlike Chemical Testing, Field Sobriety Tests Are Voluntary in Maryland, but a Refusal Can Still Affect Your Case
Maryland's implied consent law, found in Transportation Article § 16-205.1, applies to chemical tests of breath or blood. By driving in Maryland, you are considered to have consented to that testing when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you were impaired. Refusing chemical testing under these circumstances in Maryland triggers administrative consequences through the Motor Vehicle Administration.
Field sobriety tests fall outside that framework. No Maryland statute requires you to perform the field sobriety tests that officers use at the roadside, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand. Declining them does not lead to a license suspension, and it is not a separate offense.
This distinction matters because the two requests often arrive close together, sometimes with the same officer issuing them within minutes. Drivers who hear that refusing a test "comes with penalties" may assume the rule applies to every test they are asked to take.
Keeping the categories separate helps you understand which decision carries consequences at the MVA and which one does not. If you also declined a breath test, blood test, or other chemical test, those refusals follow different rules.
Field Sobriety Test Refusal Doesn’t End a DUI Case: What Happens After You Decline
Declining roadside tests changes what evidence the officer gathers, but it rarely ends the encounter on the spot. Here is what typically follows.
The Officer May Still Make an Arrest
Field sobriety tests are only one tool officers use to establish probable cause. An officer can still decide to arrest you based on other observations, such as your driving pattern, the odor of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, an open container, or statements you made about drinking. Refusal removes one category of evidence, but it does not remove the rest.
Your Refusal Will Likely Appear in the Police Report
Officers commonly note a refusal in their reports and in the statement of probable cause that accompanies the charges. Body camera and dash camera footage may also capture the exchange. How the refusal is described, and whether that description matches the video, can become important later.
The State May Try to Reference Your Decision in a DUI Case
Prosecutors sometimes attempt to present a refusal as evidence that you knew you were impaired. Whether a refusal can be mentioned at trial, and in what way, is a question your defense can contest before the case reaches that point. Depending on the circumstances, a pretrial motion may limit how the refusal is characterized or keep it out entirely.
A Chemical Test Request Usually Follows
If you are arrested, the officer will typically ask you to submit to an evidentiary breath or blood test. That request is governed by implied consent, and the decision you make at that stage carries very different consequences than declining roadside exercises.
Officers Often Present Field Sobriety Tests as Requirements, but Legal Counsel Can Assess Whether Improper Procedures Apply
Few drivers are told outright that roadside tests are optional. Officers are generally not required to advise you that field sobriety tests are voluntary, and the request is often phrased in a way that sounds like an instruction rather than a question. Many drivers later recall hearing something like "I need you to step out and do a few tests for me," or a suggestion that passing the tests would let them go home.
That framing is common, and it is one reason our Maryland field sobriety test refusal lawyers review footage of the stop closely. The officer also needs reasonable suspicion of impairment to extend an ordinary traffic stop into a sobriety investigation. If the stop was prolonged without that justification, everything gathered afterward, including observations tied to your refusal, may be open to challenge.
The Way You Decline Sobriety Tests Can Affect How the Refusal Is Recorded and How It Affects Your DUI Case
Refusing roadside sobriety tests in Maryland is a legal choice, but the manner of the refusal still ends up in the record. Officers document not just what you decided but how you behaved while deciding. A calm, clear refusal tends to read very differently in a report and on video than a heated exchange.
General principles that can help include:
- Declining politely but firmly: Courtesy toward the officer helps keep your demeanor from becoming evidence against you.
- Keeping it brief: A simple statement that you prefer not to take the tests is enough, and you are not required to explain your reasons.
- Following lawful orders: Officers can typically direct you to step out of the vehicle, and complying with that instruction is separate from agreeing to testing.
- Limiting other statements: Comments about where you were or what you had to drink can supply the opposing side with evidence to use against you.
A refusing a sobriety test attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD, can review how your refusal was captured and whether the officer's account reflects what actually happened.
Partial Refusals and Stopping Partway Through Field Sobriety Testing
Not every refusal happens at the start. Some drivers agree to one test and decline the rest, or begin an exercise and stop because of pain, footwear, uneven pavement, or simple uncertainty. Others try to perform the tests while explaining an injury or medical limitation.
Officers may record an incomplete test as a refusal, a failure, or a series of observed clues. Those descriptions are not interchangeable. A driver who stopped the walk-and-turn because of a knee injury has a very different story than the report may suggest. We compare the officer's notes against video footage and your own account to identify where the record overstates what the tests actually showed.
Our Maryland Field Sobriety Test Refusal Lawyers Explore Every Avenue for Defending Against DUI Charges
A refusal can leave the State with a thinner case than prosecutors would prefer. Without standardized test results, the arrest often rests on general observations that are open to innocent explanation. Our DUI defense attorneys focus on testing each piece of evidence the officer relied on instead:
- Probable cause: Whether the remaining observations were enough to justify an arrest
- Nonspecific indicators: Whether signs like bloodshot eyes or nervousness have explanations, such as fatigue, allergies, or stress
- The extended stop: Whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to turn a routine stop into a DUI investigation
- The refusal evidence: Whether references to your decision should be limited or excluded
When fewer pieces of evidence support the charge, each successful challenge carries more weight. Our Maryland field sobriety test refusal lawyers look for those openings from the first review of your file. A refusing a sobriety test attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD, can also evaluate how your roadside decision interacts with any later chemical test refusal and the MVA hearing process, so your defense accounts for every part of the case.
Why Choose Maronick Law LLC as Your Maryland Field Sobriety Test Refusal Lawyers
A DUI or DWI case that involves field sobriety test refusal often turns on details that unfolded in a matter of minutes on the side of the road. Understanding how officers are trained, what the law requires, and where a thin case can be pressed calls for a team that knows roadside investigations from more than one angle. Here's what our team at Maronick Law LLC brings to your defense.
Training in the Same Field Sobriety Testing Course as Police
Our firm includes counsel who have completed the same field sobriety testing course used to train police officers. That training gives our team a detailed understanding of how the tests are supposed to be requested and conducted, which helps us identify where an officer's approach at your stop may have fallen short.
Innovative Strategies When the Evidence Is Limited
Refusal cases rarely follow the typical script of failed tests and a high breath reading. We develop creative, case-specific approaches that take advantage of what the State does not have, rather than relying on routine arguments.
Extensive Knowledge of Maryland DUI Law
Our attorneys have built a reputation on a thorough understanding of the Maryland laws that shape a DUI investigation, from implied consent to the limits on how long an officer can extend a stop. You benefit from counsel who can recognize when the State's use of your refusal goes further than the law permits.
Contact a Refusing a Sobriety Test Attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD, at Maronick Law LLC for a Free Consultation
Declining roadside tests was your right, and it should not become the centerpiece of the case against you. Our Maryland field sobriety test refusal lawyers can review the footage, the police report, and the evidence the State plans to use so you understand where your case stands.
Call Maronick Law LLC at 443-551-2747 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation with a refusing a sobriety test attorney in Anne Arundel County, MD.