Chicago DUI Lawyers Report: Sleeping In Your Car Can Result In A DUI Arrest

Our Chicago DUI Lawyers have warned of the dangers of “sleeping it off” in your car and the potential of getting arrested for DUI even while sleeping. Now a recent Appellate Decision in Minnesota hammers home that very point: Yes, you can be arrested for DUI while sleeping in your car.

Full DUI story follows below:

Minnesota court: You needn’t be driving to be guilty of DUI

Appeals court upholds conviction of man found passed out in parked car.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Daryl Fleck was drunk and asleep in his car in the parking lot of his Crookston apartment building when someone called police.

Officers who responded that night in 2007 saw his car keys on the console between the front seats, but found no evidence that Fleck, who was parked in his assigned spot, had recently driven.

Nonetheless, Fleck was convicted of drunken driving, and on Tuesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that conviction in a decision that serves as a reminder that a person can be guilty of drunken driving without having driven.

The appeals court said that Fleck’s keys were “readily available to him,” and there was no evidence he was in the car to do something other than drive. That he may not have intended to drive is “immaterial,” the eight-page decision said.

Fleck’s lawyer G. Tony Atwal, an assistant state public defender, said that when police came, Fleck didn’t know where the keys were. Court papers said Fleck initially told police he went to the car to retrieve something, then decided to sit in the car.

State law says that any person who drives, operates or is in “physical control” of a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 percent is guilty of a crime. Testing of Fleck showed an alcohol concentration of 0.18 percent, the court said.

The court cited a 1992 ruling saying that “physical control” includes situations where a drunk person is found in a parked vehicle that might be started and driven.

In trying to overturn Fleck’s conviction, Atwal cited a 1984 case from Falcon Heights in which a man was found asleep in his car in his driveway at 3 a.m. He went there after a fight with his girlfriend, the court said. The difference was there was no evidence the keys were in the car.

Fleck argued that the facts of his case were similar, but the court disagreed, saying the keys “were readily available to him,” putting him in “physical control” of the vehicle.

The Law Offices of James E. Fabbrini have years of experience protecting people charged with DUI. From first time DUI offenders to felony DUI, our Chicago DUI lawyers have successfully fought DUI charges in Chicago and the surrounding areas.

Protect your freedom, avoid trouble, and save yourself money. Contact our office today. All consultations are absolutely free. Call us at (312) 494-3131 or e-mail us your questions at [email protected].