When you hear about a person getting charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) in Greeley, Evans or Erie, you assume the person was actually driving before they got arrested. After all, the crime is called “Driving” Under the Influence. That, however, is not always the case in Colorado DUI arrests. I was reading a criminal law crime blotter and saw a story about a woman getting arrested for Driving Under the Influence. According to the short recap, the 46-year-old woman had been sitting in her car, while it was parked in the garage with the garage door up. A neighbor called the police and when they arrived on scene, they found the woman in the running car and tested her blood alcohol content (BAC). The preliminary breath tests showed a BAC of .16 and the woman was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. How can this be when she wasn’t actually driving? Let’s look at the law to find out.
Weld County Driving Under the Influence Attorney: What Are the Vital Definitions?
The Colorado law definition of Driving Under the Influence in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County – C.R.S. 42-4-1301 – is:
Am I reading it wrong or does it specifically say ‘drives a motor vehicle?’ To me, sitting in a car does not constitute driving. It isn’t until the car moves that I would say the person is driving the car. Lawmakers and the appellate courts seem to disagree with me on that point though, because written into the annotations of the statute it clarifies this:
Typically, a person will be charged if the keys are in the ignition. We have seen people charged with Driving Under the Influence while listening to the car radio or sleeping with the engine off. I think they should rename the statute ‘Controlling a Vehicle Under the Influence’ because the title Driving Under the Influence does not explain everything.
Have you been charged with Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Ability Impaired? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Have you been charged with Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Ability Impaired? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Greeley Drunk Driving Lawyer: Examples of the Lunacy
Many of the ways a Greeley Police Officer or Weld County Sheriff Deputy determine if a person is Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Driving While Ability Impaired is through roadside tests. These tests are incredibly unreliable and subject to the discretion of the officer. Many times, the officer will pull over the person claiming they were weaving on the road or driving erratically and then use the roadside tests to get probable cause for an arrest. But how does that work when there was no driving? We had a client who had some beers in his hotel room and went out to sit in his car because he got better Wi-Fi reception there. He had the car running for the heat and apparently someone decided it was necessary to call the police. He admitted to drinking that night, because he thought it was fine seeing as he wasn’t driving. It wasn’t. He was arrested and charged with a DUI. And because of the ‘actual physical control’ language, he had to face the ridiculous charges and the potential loss of his driver’s license.
If you or someone you love has been arrested for Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Ability Impaired, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best Greeley DUI lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Credit: Pixabay – TBIT