Commonwealth v. Brown

When a person who is suspected by the police of operating a motor vehicle on a public way while under the influence of alcohol refuses to submit to roadside tests commonly referred to as field sobriety tests, evidence of his refusal is not admissible at trial because it is regarded as compelled testimony in violation of art. 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. See Commonwealth v. Blais, 428 Mass. 294, 298-299 (1998). In this case, we must decide whether compul*773sion, in a constitutional sense, is involved when such a person agrees to perform field sobriety tests, and then in…