When charged with OUI in Massachusetts, the Commonwealth must prove 3 elements under the law to convict you. They must establish that you were
- Operating a Motor Vehicle,
- On a Public Road,
- While Impaired or Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor (or drugs).
How does that work if they find you asleep in your car?
As with so many legal situations, it depends.
In a recent Braintree OUI case reported in the Braintree Patch, a man was arrested after being found asleep in his car, which was parked by the side of the road, but in a crosswalk. The police apparently roused him, and charged with with OUI and blocking an intersection.
We don’t know the facts documented in the police report, but it is very possible that proving operation could be a challenge, and that can be a very successful legal defense strategy. There have been quite a few similar cases where a person is arrested and charged with drunk driving where the defendant has been passed out behind the wheel, and no evidence that he ever drove.
Can I Be Charged With Drunk Driving if I Never Drove the Car?
The surprising answer to this is that, yes you can be charged and convicted, without ever driving.
The prosecution must establish that you had operational control of the vehicle while you were impaired. So if you started the car, or even just had the keys in the ignition, that is often enough to convict you of OUI in Massachusetts.
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If those things aren’t true, then it gets murkier. If you are founds in the driver’s seat, but the keys are on the seat next to you, is that enough to prove operation?
In a case like this, we might argue that you had some drinks, and went to your car just to sleep. You took the keys out of your pocket to open the car door to sleep, and left the keys on the seat.
We fight a lot of cases by contesting operation if there are no witnesses who ever saw our client driving a vehicle.
If you are arrested for OUI while asleep in the driver’s seat, the details are very important in establishing your defense and winning the case.
Attorney C. Henry Fasoldt is a criminal defense lawyer in Braintree, MA. The Law Offices of Russell J. Matson, PC is a Massachusetts criminal defense law firm.