- 1 week ago
Cop FAKES a Sobriety Test — Then Gets CAUGHT Lying in Court
I'm Jason. After 30 years in the justice system, I break down real cases so you can see how the law actually works.
Today's case is State of Wisconsin v. Antonio Morales, a case about an arrest that came down to one test - performed by a deputy who couldn't explain how it works. On New Year's Day 2026, Deputy Jeff Carroll found Morales's SUV stuck in a snowy ditch in rural Wisconsin. He smelled alcohol, ran three standard roadside tests - and Morales passed two of them. The deputy arrested him based entirely on the third: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, an eye test where the officer moves his finger and watches for involuntary twitching. He scored Morales six out of six - every possible sign of impairment. Months later, defense attorney Daniel Chapman put Deputy Carroll on the stand and handed him the NHTSA training manual for that test. The deputy could not explain how fast to move the finger. He could not explain how long to hold it. He could not explain why the test works. And when the lawyer played the body camera footage, it showed the deputy had rushed through the test without following a single step in his own manual. This is the suppression hearing where one lawyer and one training manual took apart the only test that mattered.
DISCLAIMER
The content on this channel is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. I share my interpretation of publicly available court records, statutes, and case law as of the time each video is made. Laws change, rules vary by state, and every case depends on its own facts. If you need legal advice, talk to a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. I do my best to get everything right, but I make no guarantees that every detail is complete, current, or applicable to your situation.
FAIR USE
This video is protected under fair use. The original courtroom footage has been edited and combined with legal commentary and analysis for educational purposes. The commentary changes the purpose, character, and value of the original material. This channel is not a substitute for the original recording and is intended to educate, not to replace it.
I'm Jason. After 30 years in the justice system, I break down real cases so you can see how the law actually works.
Today's case is State of Wisconsin v. Antonio Morales, a case about an arrest that came down to one test - performed by a deputy who couldn't explain how it works. On New Year's Day 2026, Deputy Jeff Carroll found Morales's SUV stuck in a snowy ditch in rural Wisconsin. He smelled alcohol, ran three standard roadside tests - and Morales passed two of them. The deputy arrested him based entirely on the third: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, an eye test where the officer moves his finger and watches for involuntary twitching. He scored Morales six out of six - every possible sign of impairment. Months later, defense attorney Daniel Chapman put Deputy Carroll on the stand and handed him the NHTSA training manual for that test. The deputy could not explain how fast to move the finger. He could not explain how long to hold it. He could not explain why the test works. And when the lawyer played the body camera footage, it showed the deputy had rushed through the test without following a single step in his own manual. This is the suppression hearing where one lawyer and one training manual took apart the only test that mattered.
DISCLAIMER
The content on this channel is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. I share my interpretation of publicly available court records, statutes, and case law as of the time each video is made. Laws change, rules vary by state, and every case depends on its own facts. If you need legal advice, talk to a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. I do my best to get everything right, but I make no guarantees that every detail is complete, current, or applicable to your situation.
FAIR USE
This video is protected under fair use. The original courtroom footage has been edited and combined with legal commentary and analysis for educational purposes. The commentary changes the purpose, character, and value of the original material. This channel is not a substitute for the original recording and is intended to educate, not to replace it.
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FunTranscript
00:00On January 1st, 2026, Deputy Jeff Carroll of the Burnett County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin
00:07arrested a man for drunk driving. It was New Year's Day. He found the man's SUV stuck in a
00:14snowy ditch, smelled alcohol, and ran him through the standard roadside tests. The driver passed
00:20two of them. On the third, Deputy Carroll decided he was impaired and put him in handcuffs. It
00:27looked like a routine arrest. It was not, because months later, a defense attorney would put Deputy
00:33Carroll on the stands, hand him the training manual for that third test, and ask him to explain how it
00:40works, and the deputy would not be able to answer a single question. Antonio Morales was charged with
00:47operating while intoxicated, his second offense, along with operating with a prohibited alcohol
00:53concentration and possession of THC in the Burnett County Circuit Court. His attorney, Daniel Chapman,
01:01filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the one test his arrest relied on was performed so badly
01:08it should not count. The hearing was held on April 28, 2026, before Judge Melissa Mogan, with Assistant
01:17District Attorney, Jose Villarge, appearing for the state. For over 30 years, I sat on the bench.
01:24People treat a field sobriety test like it's hard science. It can be, but it is only ever as good
01:30as
01:30the officer holding the finger. Watch what happens when someone finally asks him to prove he knows how
01:36it works. Did you receive any training prior to becoming a police officer? Yes, I did. What was that
01:43training? The 720-hour law enforcement academy in Northwood Technical College. And was any of that
01:50training focused on the detection of alcohol? Yes. On January 1st of 2026, did you respond to a call
01:57about a vehicle in a ditch? Yes, I did. After arriving on scene, did you make any observations?
02:02I observed a vehicle in the ditch on the south side of County Road D, like a gray colored kind
02:08of SUV type
02:08car. It appeared to be occupied by one male. I observed the vehicles on and running and the front
02:15driver's side tire was still spinning. Immediately after making contact with Mr. Morales, I detected a
02:20strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle in his person. His eyes appeared to be half
02:25open and glassy and bloodshot and his speech was kind of broken and a bit slurred. Yeah, I asked him
02:32how
02:32much he had to drink. He said it was New Year's, so he had had a couple. And what field
02:37sobriety test did
02:38you perform? The field sobriety tests that were performed were the horizontal gaze and a stagnus
02:44test, a walk and turn test, and the one leg stand test. And did you notice anything through these tests?
02:52Through these tests, I observed enough clues, which led me to believe Mr. Morales was impaired.
02:58I observed six clues during HGN out of six possible clues. I observed one possible clue out of eight
03:04during the walk and turn, and I observed zero possible clues out of four during the one leg stand.
03:08I asked him if he would submit to his preliminary breath test, which he replied no.
03:13What happened to that? I advised him he'd be placed under arrest for OWI.
03:17Six out of six. A perfect score. Every possible sign of drunkenness in both eyes. Sounds airtight,
03:25but stop right there because you need to know what this test actually is. It is not a breathalyzer.
03:30No machine. No number. Nothing anyone can go back and double check. It is one man,
03:36moving his finger, watching your eyeballs twitch, and deciding you are drunk. That is the entire test,
03:42which means it lives or dies on one thing. Did he do it right? Hold on to that because in
03:48a few minutes,
03:49this deputy is going to be asked exactly that question, and you are going to watch him realize
03:54he has no idea. What's your name, man? I'm Antonio. Okay. Do you have driver's license, Antonio? Yes,
04:03I do. All right. You're in there pretty good, my man. Yes, I am. You okay? Yep. I'm like five
04:11miles away from home. I got you. How much you had to drink? It's New Year's, so I've had a
04:17couple.
04:17A couple. Okay. Can I have you step out of the car, Antonio? You'd be willing to do field
04:22sobriety tests? Yes, I would. You would? Okay. Do you have any medical conditions or anything like
04:27that? No, I don't. No, you don't. So for the first test, I'm going to check your eyes. I'm going
04:31to
04:32have you watch the tip of my left finger with your eyes and your eyes only. I do not want
04:36you to move
04:36your head. Do you understand that? Okay. Watch my finger. Okay. Keep going. Look at my finger. That's the
04:43point. Okay. So for this, I can see right there. You're good. We're going to do it one more time.
04:46Keep looking, keep looking, keep looking, keep looking. Good. All right. Antonio for this next one,
04:52it's called the walk and turn. Perfect. Thank you. All right. All right. So for this last one,
04:58it's called the one leg stand. Are you ready? Yep. You may begin.
05:041,001, 1,002, 1,003, 1,004, 1,005, 1,002. You're good. Thank you. All right. Based on
05:14the testing
05:14and stuff I saw from you, I believe you're impaired. I don't believe you're super drunk by any means,
05:21but I believe you're still drunk. So you're going to be under arrest for WI. What did I do wrong
05:26on the
05:26test? Your eyes. My eyes. Yeah. That's something to do with the test. It's part of the test. Okay.
05:33Yeah. How many times do you think you had done the field sobriety tests?
05:38Um, including the academy and other training purposes. Let's say in the field, in the field,
05:43I would say a dozen, maybe more. And you said you did the police academy training and that police
05:51academy training involves detection of signs of impairment. Did you do any official training on
05:57the field sobriety tests? Yes. Were you trained under the national highway,
06:03national highway and transportation safety administration guidelines?
06:07I personally can't recall the exact material they used in the academy.
06:11You said that, uh, on the walk and turn test, you observed one out of eight clues.
06:16Yes. Do you recall which clue that was?
06:17It was the improper turn. And one out of eight, is that a pass or a fail under your training?
06:23A one out of eight would be a pass. And on the one leg stand test, you said you observed
06:28zero out of
06:28four? Correct. Which is obviously a pass? Correct. So the only field sobriety test that you say that
06:34Mr. Morales failed is the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. Yes. There it is under oath. Two tests out of
06:42three. Passed. One clue out of eight on the walk. Zero out of four on the one leg stand. The
06:48deputy
06:49just admitted the whole picture of impairment he built on those tests comes down to a single one.
06:55Just one. The eye test. And that is the heart of the defense's argument. Strip that test away,
07:01they say, and the impairment case falls apart. So everything now hangs on one question. Does this
07:07deputy even know how to give the test he leaned on? Watch him try to answer it. You're looking for
07:12specifically three clues and whether it applies to each eye, correct? Six total clues, yes. Three in
07:18each eye. And what are those three clues that you're looking for in each eye? In each eye, it would
07:23be
07:23lack of smooth pursuit, nystagmus at maximum deviation, and then onset of nystagmus prior to a 45 degree.
07:31And for each of those tests, you have a specific process that involves you holding your finger or
07:38another focus item that you're asking people to look at and moving that in a certain pattern across
07:44their eye, correct? Yes. And were you trained in your police academy training specifically how to do
07:52that stylus motion to look for the nystagmus? Yes. Let's start with the
07:59the first clue you said you were looking for, which would be lack of smooth pursuit. Can you describe
08:06exactly what you do to check for lack of smooth pursuit? While checking for lack of smooth pursuit
08:13in each eye, we go back and forth both times and then we're looking at the eye to see if
08:18it's small
08:19following smoothly or if it's like lurching across, it's not falling smoothly essentially.
08:25The finger is approximately 18 inches away from the face going at a smooth pace across left and right.
08:32You say a smooth pace left or right. How fast do you move your finger?
08:37At a smooth pace easily to track. I'm not sure how to answer that.
08:44Well, I am looking at the training materials from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration
08:51and I have the document that will be moved into, I'll ask to be marked as Defense Exhibit 1 when
08:57I'm
08:57done. Deputy Carroll, what training were you provided regarding field sobriety testing?
09:04It would be through the Wisconsin DOJ, what Northwood Tech Academy puts together as a curriculum.
09:10I believe all their course material is on WileyNet.
09:14Deputy, are you aware of whether the training you received complies with the
09:18National Highway and Safety Transit Association guidelines?
09:22I truthfully can't recall at this moment though.
09:25And you can't recall how fast you're supposed to move your finger when you're detecting lack of
09:31smooth pursuit in the eyes? I had said before smoothly, but if we're going off of the DHSTA,
09:37I can't recall their parameter now. And you can't recall whether your training
09:42complied with those guidelines? At this moment, no. I don't remember what the academy put on.
09:47Does your office still have access to the training materials? I'm not sure.
09:52Regarding the, so you, you're supposed to do two passes to the left, back to middle,
09:57to the right, back to middle, again, to the left and again, to the right.
10:02Yes. In your opinion or in your training,
10:05do you believe that the speed you move your finger matters?
10:07Yes. Okay. But you don't know how fast you're supposed to move your finger.
10:11Again, I moved at a smooth speed. Yes. A smooth speed, but
10:16whether that smooth speed took one second or five seconds, you don't know what's appropriate.
10:22I can't remember the exact time though. Okay. Moving on to the second clue you're looking for,
10:29sustained, sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation. What exactly are you looking for,
10:34for that clue? Sustained nystagmus at max deviation would be the involuntary movement of the eye when the
10:40eye is farther most to the outer corner of the eye. So it would be the jerkiness back and forth
10:48at that
10:49position. And what does the sustained mean? Excuse me? You're looking for sustained nystagmus
10:56at maximum deviation. What does sustained mean? It would be continuous. For how long? I can't
11:01remember the exact amount of time off the top of my head. But you are supposed to pause and look
11:07for
11:07whether the nystagmus is sustained, not just whether you observed it. Correct? Correct. And you don't know
11:13how long you're supposed to be looking forward to make it a clue off the top of my head. I
11:17can't
11:17remember right now. Okay. I believe to five minutes and 50 seconds wise. I'm not going to be able to
11:24look that far. I've had it. Yeah. Just follow it as best you can. Okay. All right. We're going to
11:29begin. Don't move your head. Don't move your head. You're good. You're doing good. You're doing good.
11:36Keep going. Okay. Now I just watched you do two complete passes left, right, left, right.
11:42That was you checking for the first clue, correct? Lack of smooth pursuit. And now you are about to begin
11:48checking for sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, correct? Yes, I believe so. Keep
11:54going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. You're
11:58doing good. Keep going. Now I paused at five minutes and 52 seconds. Your finger just reached the
12:07maximum deviation, correct? I believe so. And at that point, deputy, your finger has begun to move
12:15back. So we're no longer looking for sustained nystagmus, correct? And now you're going to move to the
12:19other eye, correct? Yes. I'm going to play the video again and watch. Yep. I got you.
12:27Keep going. You see that or no? If I move my head, I can see. Now at this point,
12:35Mr. Morales began talking to you, correct? So the test was interrupted?
12:41For a short couple of seconds. Did you do it again? I can't remember. We'll play the video.
12:47Okay. I'll come back a little bit. Look at my finger. That's it for this. I can see. Okay. Right
12:52there. You're good. We're gonna do it one more time. Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Okay.
12:59Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Good. Was that you testing for sustained
13:04nystagmus at maximum deviation? Yes. Did you even pause your finger at maximum deviation on those two
13:09passes? I would have to go back and watch it again, but I'll reset the video to six minutes and
13:18four seconds. Okay. I'll come back a little bit. Look at my finger. That's it for this. I can see.
13:24Okay. You're good. We're gonna do it one more time. Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Okay.
13:31Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Keep looking. Good. Did you even pause your finger at
13:36maximum deviation on those two passes? It appeared it paused. Yes. For how long? I didn't count.
13:41What is the purpose of looking for sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation? The purpose of
13:48looking for? Yes. What is, what is the reasoning behind why that is a sign of intoxication?
13:54I I'm, I can't testify to that. I'm not sure. So you don't know the reason you don't know how
13:58long
13:59you're supposed to pause at maximum deviation and you don't even know how long you paused for.
14:04I don't know the exact science behind it right now. What were you trained?
14:08I can't remember which course material we were taught on. Okay. And you know, it's supposed to be
14:14sustained nystagmus, but you don't know how long to wait for or why. Is that true? True. Okay.
14:21And what is the third clue that you're looking for? It would be a nystagmus prior to a 45
14:27deviation. And what do you do to look for nystagmus prior to 45 deviation?
14:33Again, it would be the left and right passes. What are you looking for? Involuntary movement of the eye.
14:41Essentially the eye movement, like wiggling back and forth, not like sitting still.
14:48That's your description of the test. No, it would be at the 45 degree angle. It may be prior to
14:53that.
14:54If I was wiggling at the 45 degree angle prior to that, if the eye was wiggling. Yes. And how
15:01do you
15:01look for that by doing the left and right passes in each eye twice and looking for the movement of
15:08the eye? And you move your finger in left and right passes? Yes. Anything more specific than that?
15:16No. Do you know how fast you're supposed to move your fingers? Again, I don't know how fast I'm
15:20supposed to move my fingers. I move it at a smooth rate. So you were trained as far as how
15:25fast to move
15:25your fingers. You just can't recall what you were trained? I can't remember the exact wording. No.
15:29Okay. Can you tell me whether your application of that test on January 1st, 2026 complied with
15:35that training? To my recollection, yes. Is it important to move your fingers slowly so that you
15:40can see the nystagmus? Yes. So right after you did the test for sustained nystagmus at maximum
15:48deviation, you began to test for the third clue? Yes. I'm going to play the video again from six
15:52minutes and 19 seconds. All right. Two more times in each eye here. Perfect.
16:06Last one. Good. Now we're going to go straight up. And I've paused it again at six minutes and 34
16:14seconds. And you completed that test, correct? Yes. So four passes, left, right, left, right,
16:23and it took 15 seconds total. I didn't keep track of the time again,
16:28but if that's... And it's your belief that on January 1st, 2026, you observed nystagmus prior to
16:3645 degrees? Yes. And there is your answer. He says he saw it, but he can't tell you how fast
16:43he moved
16:44his finger. He can't tell you how long he held it. He can't even explain why the test works. His
16:50exact
16:51words were, I can't testify to that. Then the lawyer played the deputy's own video and timed it. The most
16:58important part of the test took just 15 seconds, even though it should take about twice as long.
17:04He rushed it. He skipped steps. This is the test the state built its case around. And now it all
17:11comes
17:11down to what one man says he saw in 15 rushed seconds. The judge watched that same video frame
17:19by frame. Now she has to decide how much it's really worth. Let's just go from the first interaction
17:26with Mr. Morales until you made the arrest decision. Was there any other interaction with Mr. Morales
17:32that wasn't, we didn't play here today that made a decision in your arrest, your decision to arrest him?
17:37No. It's obvious he became kind of flustered when you began talking about how much he had to drink
17:42today, right? He immediately jumped to saying he didn't deserve a DOI, so... And his speech started
17:47getting a little stuttering at that point, right? I can't remember exactly when it happened. I thought
17:51it was immediate. I'm going to play from the beginning quick. This is you and your car, right?
17:56You haven't had any interaction with Mr. Morales yet? Yes, I believe so. Hello. You okay? How's it going?
18:06Yep. I've got someone on the way. Alrighty. Your car's wheels are still spinning. I guess I didn't realize
18:11that. Thanks for letting me know. Yeah. What's your name, man? I'm Antonio. Okay.
18:17Don't worry. Do you have a driver's license, Antonio? Yes, I do. Alrighty.
18:21Is that what you're calling slurred? You asked if it was stuttered before and he stuttered after
18:27I told him his wheel was moving a couple times. That's what you're using as a sign of intoxication?
18:33The stuttering? No. The slurred speech, yes. Is the speech that we just watched there
18:39prior to 55 seconds on the video, is that what you're considering slurred?
18:43At that point, not extremely bad, no. Okay. We're going to continue to play. It's at 55 seconds now.
18:52You're in there pretty good, my man. Yes, I am.
18:54You okay?
18:55Yep. I'm like five miles away from home. I got you. Where do you stay at, Antonio?
19:02It's like between Webster and Siren. Oh, okay. Like on County Road D or where at?
19:07It's right off of County Road D. Okay. Where are you coming from, Antonio? I'm coming from all the
19:13way over in Luck, Wisconsin. Really? Yeah. Why are you coming from all the way over there? That's
19:18where my... It's a long story. My house burned down. Oh, man. I'm sorry about that. I'd rather not
19:25explain the whole situation. No, you don't have to. You don't have to. But yeah, this is where I'm staying
19:29right now. Okay. That's fine. Okay. How much you had to drink? It's New Year's, so I've had a couple.
19:35A couple. Okay. All right. I'm being honest. I don't think I deserve a DUI. Okay. Because I...
19:45Pause it again at one minute and 55, 56 seconds. Obviously, Mr. Morales started to get a little
19:51bit more flustered after you brought up drinking, correct? I don't know if that's what he was
19:55feeling, but it seems like he was being defensive. His speech pattern changed once you started bringing
20:00up alcohol, correct? It looks like it, yes. Your Honor, I am going to move into evidence.
20:06The document that I've included on this flash drive, the National Highway Safety...
20:11National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration guidelines on the field sobriety
20:15test. I'm going to move it in as a written treatise. Take it for what it's worth. This officer
20:21apparently doesn't remember whether he was trained on that or not, but I do believe it's relevant to the
20:26propriety of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and I will make references to it in my written argument.
20:32The court did take it under advisement, and I have now uploaded and signed my order,
20:39my suppression order. So I'll go over it very quickly with you, but it is in more detail in
20:44the decision. The court... Here's the thing. There were certain findings that the court did make
20:53that on January 1st, 2026, during the daytime hours of New Year's Day, approximately 12 or 7 p.m.,
21:01the arresting officer responded to a single vehicle accident. Upon arrival, the officer observed the
21:07defendant's vehicle resting on the roadside ditch, stuck in the snow. One of the tires was continuing
21:13to spin or rotate. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. Upon making contact,
21:21the defendant was the sole occupant of the vehicle. The officer stated and testified at the suppression
21:27hearing, he observed multiple signs of intoxication, including a strong odor of intoxicant emitting
21:33from the defendant's breath, glassy, and bloodshot eyes, and the officer testified that his speech
21:40was slurred or somewhat broken. In response to questioning from the officer, the defendant
21:46admitted to consuming alcohol and stated, well, it was New Year's, so he had alcohol. He did not want to
21:56perform the preliminary breath test. So the officer asked him to perform the standardized field
22:03sobriety tests. The defendant complied and he performed the test. We watched this on video. He
22:09passed all of the tests and were shown only minimal signs of impairment except for the HDN, the horizontal
22:18gaze nystagmus test. The court does find after watching the video and observing the officer perform that test and
22:32with the exhibit provided by Attorney Chapman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines, the court does
22:43find by this viewing that the HDN test was not performed accurately or properly. Judge Mogan did not dance around
22:52it. She watched the video. She had the national training
22:55manual right in front of her and she found on the record that the test was not performed properly. The
23:01deputy moved too fast. He skipped the
23:04procedure he was trained on. The one test that Morales failed. The judge herself would not stand behind it. Think
23:11about that for a second. The centerpiece of this entire arrest discredited from the bench.
23:17Now I am not going to tell you how the whole case ends. Because the honest truth is, it hasn't.
23:22There was more on that road that night than an eye test. A car in a ditch. An odor of
23:28alcohol. A man's own admission. And a courtroom weighs
23:32all of it. Not just the part that came apart on camera. This case is still open. No final judgment
23:38has been entered. Where it lands is still unwritten.
23:41But you do not need me to tell you what you just watched. You watched an officer give a man
23:47a perfect score on a test. And then, under oath, failed to explain a single thing about how that test
23:53works. You saw it with your own eyes. You can be the judge of that.
23:57If there's a case or courtroom exchange you want me to break down, drop it in the comments below.
24:03Thanks for watching. And if this is the kind of breakdown you're here for, like and subscribe so we can
24:09keep building a more informed audience.
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