You Can Get a DUI Even If You’re Not Driving
An appellate court ruled that a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol can be imposed on someone who isn’t driving but is behind the wheel.
Say what?
Well, David Montalvo, 36, was sleeping in his GMC pickup truck in the parking lot of a Market Place Deli, apparently sleeping off the effects of his drinking from the night before. A police officer from the Hamburg Police Department knocked on his pickup truck window at 5am in the morning. When Montalvo awoke, the officer instructed him to take a Breathalyzer test due to suspicion of drinking, but Montalvo refused to take the test.
Montalvo was arrested and entered a forced conditional guilty plea. His lawyer, Evan M. Levow, argued that the officer had no reasonable grounds to suspect a criminal activity on a guy sleeping in his truck. One key piece that may have affected the situation is that his car was running, although it was parked. The temperature was 25 degrees Fahrenheit so he apparently had the heater running.
The appellate court disagreed with Montalvo and Levow.
“From the perspective of the officer on the scene, I don’t find at all that what he was doing was unreasonable. In fact, I find it would have been unreasonable to have stopped his inquiries at any point short of what he did,” said Superior Court Judge Thomas Critchley Jr. “The officer wanted to make sure the driver was ‘okay,’ nothing was wrong with the businesses and that the truck was operating properly. We are convinced that under the facts as observed by Officer Aaronson defendant was lawfully subject to limited inquiry based upon an objectively reasonable exercise of the officer’s community caretaking function.”
Now the sleeping motorist has a DUI on his record, a “driver responsibility” tax of $3000, miscellaneous fines and fees of around $1000 and legal bills to take care of.
Doesn’t seem right to me. Wasn’t he doing the right thing sleeping off his drunkenness in a parking lot?
I can see both sides of it.
On one hand, the police officer has a duty to keep drunk drivers off the street. How can he be assured that half an hour later he’d wake up and still being intoxicated drive around and smash into something or someone?
On the other hand, it’s much better to have a drunk driver sleeping it off in a parking lot than trying to get home drunk. Do you think maybe this ruling may cause more people to drive home drunk because they’ll be scared a cop will give them a DUI for stopping somewhere to sober up? It’s a tough situation for sure.
Legal Filing: A-1303-06T5 STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DAVID MONTALVO
(SUSSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
Did you like this article?
I recieved a DUI even though i was not behind the wheel or keys in the ignition when police officer arrested me ..I was outside the car arguing with wife ..police never witnessed me in the car they asked me if i was driving and i pleaded the fifth wich he told me that pleading the fifth did not exist.plus he arrested me for misdemeanor dui and never read maranda right before he arrested me and proceded to ? me before reading my rights after i mentioned to him he did not read my maranda right.Can any one help me with anything i can do ..im in california
i was arrested for a dui, while i was sitting in the drivers seat with the car turned completely off. the officers were called to the scene about a block from where i was parked on an unrelated call. i was at a party, intoxicated retrieving a cd out of my car…what bad timing. as soon as i sit in my car an officer rolls up behind me. apparently by this point the officer was simply aquiring what i was doing and i was “not under arrest” at this point. the officer then proceeded to give me a field sobriety test which i agreed to but did not understand because i had not been driving for over 6 hours…i blew above the legal limit and was arrested for DUI. i dont understand how they can give you a driving under the influence when u were never driving in the first place. thats like convicting you of murder when u never even killed someone! its ridiculous i am current contesting it in court. i will NOT plead guilty i will NOT take a plea agreement. i am fighting this in court, this is happening to too many people…my case shall be witnessed by 12 jurors. our voices shall be heard. Thank you all and good luck with your cases. Dont give up, dont fold under the pressure of ASSUMED authority.
can you get a dui or dwi sent to you in the mail. Caught on video??
I live in hornell,new york. about a month ago i had dinner and drank a couple glassesof wine. After which i took my dog to let him run on the river bank. This is about two blocks from my home. I have a bad back and at the time i got a spasm in my lower back so i sat down on the river bank. A pollice car pulled up andthe officer asked me what i was doing. i told him that i was letting my dog get some exersize and i was having a back spasm and that was why i was sitting down. they had me breath into a breathalizer three times. Then they called an ambulance and took me to the hospital where they had a blood test taken. The test results are not back yet. while in the hospital I was arrested and charged with dwi. Can i be arrested and charged with dwi even if i was not in the truck when the pollice arrived? Also I wasw never read my mirranda rights. My court date is aug 5th. Thanks for any help>
I was in front of my office at 2am. My estranged husband called to report a drunk driver (me) I was not driving, not even in the car and because I had been drinking was given a DUI.
I’m in Oregon
Does this seem crazy or is it just me?