Posted on 07/26/2017 8:54:09 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
NORTHVILLE, Mich. - The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that sitting in a car in your own driveway while drunk constitutes drunken driving.
A Northville man questioned whether he could be ticketed for a DUI in his own driveway after he was found behind the wheel and going in and out of his garage, but not off his property.
The driveway DUI case had been ping ponging between courts and finally ended up in front of the Michigan Supreme Court for a final decision. At issue was a Northville man busted for being drunk and driving in and out of his garage on his own property.
Police were called to the man's home on noise complaints and watched him. They later found his blood-alcohol level to be three times the legal limit.
The court ruled that, yes, the man can be given a DUI in his own driveway.
What the justices had to answer was whether the driveway was generally accessible to other motor vehicles. They overruled a lower court's opinion and said yes.
Michigan Supreme Court to decide if idling in driveway is drunken driving
Fox 2 Detroit ^ | APR 25 2017
Posted on 4/25/2017 5:10:22 PM by equaviator
Does a home driveway qualify for drunken driving? The Michigan Supreme Court is on the road Tuesday to hear arguments in the case of an Oakland County man who was arrested after operating his Cadillac in his driveway.
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How do you get charged for DUI when you’re not driving??
Not unless you are on a public roadway.
Yeah, another case of government answering the ‘why are you doing this?’ question with ‘because we can.’
[[What the justices had to answer was whether the driveway was generally accessible to other motor vehicles. They overruled a lower court’s opinion and said yes.]]
So the state pays all the taxes on this man’s driveway? The state owns the driveway making it a public road?
The police fight crime 10% of the time the rest of the time they are revenue agents.
Might I suggest sobriety check points on golf courses, a lot of rich folks there. just think of the bribes to be had.
The police have no jurisdiction to issue that citation on private property, that’s like giving the guy a ticket for driving a car with no license and registration in his driveway.
Of course he can be charged now that they have eliminated that pesky 4th amendment.
And it’s not his property anyway, he just rents it from the government. It can be taken from him anytime if he stops paying rent (property taxes)
“What the justices had to answer was whether the driveway was generally accessible to other motor vehicles.”
That can be a very slippery slope.
Well, maybe he can be charged. Good luck finding the law that will stick.
Laws are very binary. If they are not, they are not constitutional. Th cops only have jurisdiction on public roadways.
You can sit in your driveway in an idling car with tabs that expired 10 years ago. You do not violate the law until your tires touch the street.
Same thing here.
He was arrested while driving the Zamboni erratically around the rink. Seriously. LMAO.
The state Supreme Court ruled that he couldn't be charged with drunk driving under those circumstances.
Easy, here in Florida.
You can get a DUI for just being in the car, parked, keys not in the ignition, passed out drunk......................
Is there any religious cult up in Mi that doesn’t like alcohol?
“What the justices had to answer was whether the driveway was generally accessible to other motor vehicles. They overruled a lower court’s opinion and said yes.”
Note to self. When I start driving drunk in my own driveway, I will need to put in a gate so it isn’t “accessible to other vehicles.” It’s like here in CA, unless your property is completely fenced, you cannot legally carry a firearm on your own property, and if you shoot an intruder out there, you will be charged since “it’s accessible to the public!”
Tab sucks even when it's fresh, much less 10 years old...................
In most states the statute prohibits "operating" the motor vehicle while intoxicated. Some states have cases on the books where farmers driving their combines in their own fields while drunk have been charged with OWI.
Not sure about Michigan, but in some states DUI laws are worded to the effect of, “operated or attempted to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence.” The rationale is that if somebody stumbles out of a bar in an extreme state of intoxication and his having difficulty even getting his key in the ignition, you don’t have to wait until they put the car in motion and endager other people. The downside is that if somebody knows they’re too drunk to drive after the bar closes, they can’t run their heater and try to stay warm in the parking lot until they’re sober enough to drive.
Where I live you can be charged if asleep in a park drunk if you have access to keys
No sleeping it off allowed
It’s money for the state and local and vehicle confiscation and homage to MAAD zealots
You can also be charged if drunk in a car with drunk driving
Not unless you are on a public roadway.
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Nope. Courts have long ruled that parking lots (also private property) qualify for DUI charges.
It was only a mater of time before your own personal driveway is now considered a “public” property.
So here we are.
One wonders can you get a DUI on one of those hoveround or Rascal scooters that do 2mph?
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