Oh if I had a dollar for every time I have been posed this question - “I left a bar and after I drove a mile or so I realized I shouldn’t be driving. I pulled into a parking lot, turned off my car and went to sleep. A cop comes by, wakes me up, and charges me with DUI. Can they do that?”
Under this fact pattern they most certainly can. The accused need only be in “physical control” of a motor vehicle to meet the requirements of a DUI. In State v. Lawrence the defendant was found asleep inside a truck in the drivers seat. The engine was off and the keys were in his front pocket. Mr. Lawrence’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals who stated that the vehicle was capable of being immediately placed in motion.
In a similar case, State v. Turner, two good ol boys were observed by the police staggering across a bar parking lot. They get in the vehicle and turn on the ignition but never moved the car. Cop charges Mr. Turner with DUI. Mr. Turner’s defense was that he and his buddie were just waiting in the car for his nephew to come and pick them up. The engine was turned on just to stay warm. The nephew came to court and testified that he was in fact on his way to pick up Mr. Turner. Unfortunately, Mr. Turner’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals who found that Mr. Turner was in “physical control” of the vehicle.
It appears that the Courts look closely at where the defendant was in the vehicle as well as the location of the car keys. While it might not save you from a DUI arrest or even a DUI conviction, if you must pull off to the side of the road to “sleep on off” then you might want to consider getting in the back seat and putting the keys far far away from the vehicle.
What about if the vehicle has been rendered inoperable - say a flat tire? I intend to address that issue in my next DUI blog. Stay tuned!
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