Attorney Saia Instructs DWI Detection and SFST Course

Columbus OVI Attorney Jon Saia recently spent an entire weekend teaching others the proper procedures for administering standardized field sobriety tests. This is because he served as an instructor for a DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Course, which lasted for three days in Cincinnati. Mr. Saia received his training as an instructor in SFST administration in 2005. This was the third time that had served as an instructor in such a course. 

The other instructors who provided the training alongside Attorney Saia were Robert F. LaPier (a DWI Detection and SFST instructor who has attained national recognition), Rob Lyons and Kelly Farrish. When Attorney Saia became an instructor, he was fortunate enough to have received his own training from Mr. LaPier. The endorsers of the recent three-day course were the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

In the recent training event, Attorney Saia and the other instructors taught on the following topics:

• The effects of alcohol on the body
• The legal aspects of DWI/OVI
• Drunk driving statistics
• The three DWI/OVI detection phases: vehicle in motion, personal contact and pre-arrest screening
• Standardized field sobriety testing procedures

The students in the course had the chance to actually put the SFST procedures they learned to practice, as they spent hours conducting practice tests on each other, as well as on live subject. The live subjects were people who had consumed different amounts of alcohol and therefore had a range of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels. The group of live subjects included one person (the “ringer”) who had not consumed any alcohol at all. At the end of the course, the students were required to (under the observation of the instructors) administer SFSTs on each other while strictly following all of the standards set by the NHTSA and IACP. In order to complete the training, the students also had to pass a written exam with at least 80% of the questions answered correctly.

Attorney Saia is a seasoned OVI defense attorney who more than 23 years of legal experience. Along with being a certified SFST instructor, he has also been certified in the operation, diagnostic verification and calibration of the BAC DataMaster Breath Alcohol Testing Instruments. Mr. Saia has been selected for inclusion in the Ohio Super Lawyers®list for several years in a row, he has been accepted as a member of the National College for DUI Defense, and he has received others professional honors as well.

Our law firm, The Law Offices of Saia, Marrocco & Jensen Inc., offers strong defense in OVI cases and other types of criminal cases. Contact us to find out how we can meet your legal needs!