Has anyone done any research on whether a brain tumor or brain cancer would cause HGN?

HGN was originally developed as a medical diagnostic tool for neurologists. I recall my father the defense attorney once using an expert to testify about the multitude of conditions that can cause nystagmous in a Harris Co dwi trial in the early 90's or the late 80's.

Check with a neuro.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I recall that HGN testing was developed for people with head injuries, so this might be applicable to your query.

Serious head injuries (and a tumor would probably cause similar symptomologies) can cause all three parts of HGN. BUT (yes there is a BUT) so BUT BUT BUT, it should also manifest in unequal pupil size and unequal performance in each eye. Those are two of the first standardized elimination observations. If there is unequal pupil size or unequal tracking the officer should have discontinued the test and had the defendant rushed to the hospital where they would shortly die and make your prosecution unnecessary.

It is always amazing how the defendant miraculously recovers to bond out hire an attorney that misses the BUT and then stand trial with the excuse.

A very practical rebuttal is to have the officer administer HGN in court and see if the defendant has had the miracle cure to the undocumented brain tumor. What do you want to bet they got a lot better??

Well, I agree with Clay if it is a case of an undocumented claim of head injury/brain tumor affecting the validity of the test.

My response was directed at an assumed valid claim of brain tumor, as she didn't mention a documentation or believeability issue.

I have seen a few documented cases where either an actual brain tumor or severe head injury existed. Yes, in many of those cases they were drinking when stopped, but in the brain tumor case I had, the issue and the case became moot due to the fatal diagnosis of the defendant's tumor.

I think many of us have experienced claims of cancer or other dread disease as either a defense or as mitigation in these types of cases. All I require to dealve further into the issue is some kind of documentation from the defendant's attorney as to an actual medical condition. I try to keep my mind open.

It turns out I am more jaded than GG, I should take time off and see a therapist. I agree with his assessment, it is a valid point if it is a valid condition.But don't overlook the value of having HGN performed on a sober defendant as a final verification of the claim.

Nystagmus is defined as the involuntary jerking of the eyes. There are many different kinds of Nystagmus, just like there are many different kinds of cars. However, we are looking for a particular model known as the HGN (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus). The involuntary jerking of the eyes that is observed with certain medical conditions is very different in appearance than what cops see when administering HGN to a drunk. The properly trained officer should notice this and ask the driver questions to determine if this is a medical rule out or not.

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Originally posted by Clay A.:
It turns out I am more jaded than GG, I should take time off and see a therapist. I agree with his assessment, it is a valid point if it is a valid condition.But don't overlook the value of having HGN performed on a sober defendant as a final verification of the claim.

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Not much more jaded, Clay. Great idea about the offer to the defense asking their client to undergo a sober hgn to corroborate the claim.

I just tried a case in which the defendant was diagnosed with a brain tumor two weeks after her arrest. The medical records were enlightening to say the least - the forms typically used to document neurological symptoms cover pretty much every symptom of intoxication you can think of, and and few that you can't. I found that the pupils, and how they were examined, showed that the defendant was completely normal, her speech was normal, and on and on. The only effect of her meningioma [a benign tumor] was intermittent leg pain.

For closing argument, I blew up each page of the records that showed her eyes, speech, motor skills, etc. were normal, highlighting the relevant parts of each form. Moreover, I also enlarged the intake sheet outlining the defendant's symptoms upon reporting to the hospital - numbness in her right arm and occasional leg pain. The jury came back with a guilty verdict in less than 45 minutes.

One thing that I wasn't able to do because of time constraints was speak to her physician. Opposing counsel offered to waive doctor patient privilege hoping that it would result in a dismissal. I've found that lots of physicians are incensed to find that their patients are using serious diseases to try to evade criminal charges, and many ER doctors (who apparently see stuff like this alot) are more than happy to testify, if given enough notice, that the malady complained of doesn't result in an invalid test.