As reported on the LewRockwell.com blog, a Minnesota man was convicted for drunk driving because he was found sleeping in his inoperable car in the parking lof of his own apartment building:
The Supreme Court of Minnesota on Thursday upheld the drunk driving conviction of a man caught asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle that would not start. At 11:30pm on June 11, 2007, police found Daryl Fleck sleeping in his own legally parked car in his apartment complex parking lot. The vehicle’s engine was cold to the touch, indicating it had not been driven recently. The keys were in the center console, not the ignition. Fleck admitted to having consumed around a dozen beers that night.
It sounds much more like he was, in fact, avoiding drunk driving by sleeping, a crime for which he'll get four years in prison for it. No doubt this is for his own good (eye roll), for as the judge explained, he was "was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of being in physical control of a vehicle." Riiight, because clearly he could have done so much with a car he could only have moved by pushing it.
This case isn't this cut and dry. The man was intoxicated, in his vehicle with the keys, and the vehicle may have been operable. Officers attempted to start the vehicle 3 weeks after it was impounded and it wouldn't turn over. Go car shopping and see if batteries on new vehicles don't start because they haven't been run for 3 weeks. The battery is still supporting electical components inside the vehicle while its not running. MN law states that the keys cannot be in the vehicle, it's simple as that.
Furthermore, he had three prior convictions which led to the 4 year sentence. The law states that a person cannot be in a vehicle that "may" become operable. Saying the car wasn't operable at the time of the incident is not a fact in this case (which is what makes it appear absurd). If an argument was made to say he was sleeping off a drunk night, why in his car and not in his apt.? All of these scenarios were undoubtedly covered during trial. One could argue that he may have woken in a drunken stooper, started the car, and drove off. He may have entered the vehicle during a black out and simply passed out only to awaken and drive off killing a family. He shows a predisposition to drunken driving. The decision creates dangerous precedent, but it is a good decision I think.
Good thinking. Lets start arresting people BEFORE they commit a crime. That should do the trick.
Dangerous Precedent my ass. As far as I am concerned unless the vehicle is moving with you behind the wheel it is not drunk driving.
Did he harm anyone, or put anyone in a harmful situation?
No? Then he didn't do anything wrong. Simple as that.
It's quite clear cut. He was passed out with keys in the center console and the engine was cold to the touch.
Sounds like a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond to me.
Oh come on... this is crazy!
Drunk drive is an offense.... Lets start arresting before it happens....
Thanks
California DUI Lawyer
if there will be a severe punishment then only there will be a reduce in crime. so the punishment must be severe.
vampire history
All criminal law is fact to element. Here, if there were enough facs for the elements of the DUI charge, he could be convicted. In addition, he plead to these charges.
DUIs in Huntington Beach California occur every night. In fact, more DUI arrests occur in Huntington Beach, California than anywhere else in the US. Don't go drinking and driving in huntington beach.
I don't understand how this could have been convicted without clear evidence. Maybe sometimes people should think about they can do to donate a car. Maybe such a decision would have saved him from being prosecuted.
I think that any used cars dealers CT can tell you that if this is true, such a case won't have a chance in a fair court of the law. How can you convict a man for being drunk in a car that is not actually working?
I think that any used car dealers CT can tell you that if this is true, such a case won't have a chance in a fair court of the law. How can you convict a man for being drunk in a car that is not actually working?
It seems only fair to me that police should enforce tougher penalties for those caught driving under the influence of alcohol. I've seen too many crashed cars at the used cars Nashua NH depot. But I underligne, those driving not those napping in their car in a parking lot. I mean, where was the guy supposed to sleep if he was drunk, on the pavement?
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