DUI
on a Horse
Information
courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
Police
and prosecutors are constantly trying to stretch DUI laws to ensnare
more citizens. One of the more creative ways is to simply re-define
the language in those laws. For example, it is a criminal offense
to drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Well, what does
"vehicle" mean? A car or truck, right?
As
the Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland" said, "A word
means exactly what I say it means".....
Let’s
look at a few examples of some of the more successful "interpretations".
The appellate courts of this great nation have sustained DUI convictions
for driving a tractor, (N. Carolina: State v. Green, 110 S.E.2d
805), a moped (New Mexico: 24 P.2d 365), and even a snowmobile (Michigan:
475 N.W.2d 717). So where does it all stop?
Well,
on May 6, 1999, the Associated Press reported the arrest of a gentleman
in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, for DUI -- on a lawnmower.
An
Ohio appellate court, in its judicial wisdom, sustained a conviction
for drunk driving on a bicycle (531 N.E.2d 775). A bicycle, the
court said, was a "vehicle" -- at least, for the purposes
of the DUI statute.
Well,
next thing you know they’re going to start arresting people
on horseback....
San
Francisco police arrested one Tyrone McDonald and charged him with
"driving" (a horse) under the influence of alcohol. McDonald
had become intoxicated and stolen a horse from a nearby racetrack,
which he promptly rode into the path of an oncoming truck. He was
arrested for grand theft, cruelty to animals and drunk driving.
Not
to be outdone, police in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, arrested a
man for riding a horse while intoxicated. The trial judge, cleverly
realizing that the term "vehicle" in the drunk driving
statute did not really mean "horse", threw the charges
out. The prosecution, apparently unable to see the judge’s
logic, appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. Fortunately, sanity
again
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