Police can’t give an opinion at trial about whether a driver was impaired by marijuana based on field sobriety tests, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Sept. 19 (Commonwealth v. Gerhardt, 2017 BL 329063, Mass., No. SJC-11967, 9/19/17).
But field sobriety tests, or FSTs, are admissible “to establish a driver’s balance, coordination, mental acuity” and other skills needed for driving, the court said. Jurors may then rely on their “common sense about the effects of marijuana” as they weigh the evidence.
Research on whether FSTs can accurately determine marijuana impairment “has produced highly disparate results,” the court said. ...
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