NM Overturns “DUI Without Driving”

Chicago DUI Lawyers were impressed with the New Mexico Supreme Court actually using some comon sense when deciding the following case of a man arrested for DUI while sleeping in his car.

New Mexico Supreme Court Overturns DUI Without Driving

New Mexico’s highest court has reversed an interpretation of the driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) statute that had discouraged motorists from sleeping off a night of drinking in their automobile. In December 2004, a police officer came upon Mark Sims who was asleep in the driver’s seat of his car, which was legally parked in a commercial parking lot. Although the car keys were on the passenger seat and not in the ignition, a trial court and the court of appeals found him guilty of being in “actual physical control” of the vehicle.

The supreme court explained that this interpretation of “actual physical control” developed as a means of convicting people who had obviously driven their car while drunk but outside the view of a police officer. For example, it is obvious that a man passed out in his car in the middle of an intersection with the engine running got there by driving. The line of thought was extended to make having the potential to drive drunk in the future a crime. Justices decided such interpretations departed from the true purpose of the DUI laws.

“For example, on a cold night, an intoxicated person may use his vehicle as a temporary shelter — as a place to sleep it off — even going so far as to start the engine so that he can turn on the heater,” Justice Chavez wrote. “Such an individual, while clearly in control of his vehicle, does not pose a threat to himself, herself, or the public precisely because he has decided not to drive. The individual’s recognition that he is too intoxicated to drive embodies the aim of our DWI law and its enforcement. To subject this type of behavior to strict liability would be counterproductive.”

Illinois, like New Mexico, interprets driving as “actual physical control” of one’s vehicle. If you know anyone arrested for DUI while sleeping in a car, please contact our office for a free consultation.