Author: Dan (326 Articles)
This is a very good ruling from the perspective of the defense, and in my opinion, from the perspective of justice. In Arizona DUI law, you don’t have to be driving, but you do at least have to be in actual physical control. With this potential use decision, it opens up the door for people to do the right thing… to sleep it off in the car without as much of a worry about being arrested. I have seen too many cases over the last decade where the person is asleep in their vehicle when the officers approach, and yet the officers still charge them with DUI.
For honest officers, this will give more guidance as to when it is okay to be drunk and in the vehicle that is not moving.
Now, let’s see if it holds up on appeal or if it gets overturned or depublished by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Quoted from http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/07/25/20080725b1-talker0725.html:
Ariz. Appeals Court rules in stationary-car DUI case
A new appellate-court ruling tackles a long-standing issue for Arizona courts in DUI cases: control of a vehicle that isn’t moving.
That question typically involves people in parked cars, and that was the circumstance in the Arizona Court of Appeals’ ruling in a Pima County case. A man had a blood-alcohol level of .357 percent and a revoked license when a police officer found him in a car with one hand on the steering wheel and the other putting the key in the ignition.
Jurors were instructed to weigh whether the man’s potential use of the vehicle presented a danger to himself or others.
The appellate court says potential use of a vehicle isn’t a crime and that the real issue is whether the defendant demonstrated actual control of the vehicle.
