Defendant was operating a motorized dirt bike in his own yard. He had an accident and both medical personnel and the Highway Patrol arrived on the scene. Defendant’s BAC was 0.226 and he was arrested for DWI.
Section 577.010.1 states that a “person commits the crime of ‘[DWI]’ if he operates a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated or drugged condition.” Thus, we have 2 elements: 1) operating a motor vehicle and 2) while intoxicated or drugged. The trial court kept it simple and concluded that a dirt bike was a motor vehicle and that defendant operated it while intoxicated. Accordingly, defendant was convicted of DWI.
On appeal, the Court focused on the statutory interpretation of “motor vehicle” because a) the state has defined this term in many statutes in conflicting ways and b) it is not defined within section 577.010 itself. The goal with statutory interpretation is to determine the intent of the legislature and to effectuate that intent. In essence, did the legislature intend to criminalize using a non traditional vehicle while not on the roads of the state?
The rule of lenity is a rule of statutory construction which gives a criminal defendant the benefit of a lesser penalty (or no penalty) where there is ambiguity in the statute allowing for more than one interpretation. This rule demands that all ambiguity in a criminal statute be resolved in the defendant’s favor. The Court found that the statute allows for more than one interpretation, and as such, the Court must resolve all ambiguity in favor of defendant.
Another rule of statutory construction is to presume a logical result, as opposed to an absurd or unreasonable one. Should it be illegal to operate a lawn mower on private property while intoxicated? What about a golf cart? What about a motorized wheelchair? Of course not! Operation of these non-traditional motorized vehicles on private property should not be a crime.
In the end, defendant won his appeal, but you must understand that his win is limited to these specific facts. If you drive a dirt bike on public roads while intoxicated, you will get a DWI. And if you ride a car on private property while intoxicated, you might get a DWI, especially if you were intending on eventually entering a public road (for example, driving in a bar’s parking lot before ever reaching the public street; this will likely get you a DWI even if you never touch the public street).
State v. Slavens, No. 31613 (MO. App. S.D., September 12, 2012).