State v. Taylor
203 Mont. 284, 661 P.2d 33 (1983)
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Rule of Law:
A person is in "actual physical control" of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol if they have existing or present domination or regulation of the vehicle, even if the person is asleep or the vehicle is immobile. The statutory definition of "highway" includes adjacent areas, such as borrow pits, that are dedicated to public use.
Facts:
- A Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputy, Richard Seibert, responded to a report of a vehicle off the road.
- Seibert found Harry Taylor slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle located in a borrow pit.
- The vehicle's engine was running, its lights were on, and its transmission was in the "drive" position.
- The vehicle was immobile because it was stuck in the borrow pit.
- Taylor appeared to be either asleep or "passed-out" and, in the deputy's opinion, was under the influence of alcohol.
- The borrow pit where the car was found was located within a right-of-way that had been dedicated to Yellowstone County and the public.
Procedural Posture:
- Harry Taylor was charged with being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
- After a trial in Justice Court, Taylor was found guilty.
- Taylor, as appellant, appealed the conviction to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court of Montana.
- The District Court held a nonjury trial and again found Taylor guilty.
- Taylor, as appellant, now appeals the District Court's conviction to the Supreme Court of Montana, the state's highest court.
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Issue:
Does an individual have "actual physical control" of a motor vehicle for the purposes of a DUI statute when found asleep behind the wheel of a running, but immobile, vehicle that is stuck in a borrow pit dedicated to public use?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Morrison
Yes. A person has "actual physical control" of a motor vehicle even when found asleep behind the wheel of a running but immobile vehicle. The court reaffirmed its precedent from State v. Ruona, which defined control as having "existing or present bodily restraint, directing influence, domination or regulation" of a vehicle and explicitly stated that movement of the vehicle is not required. The court reasoned that a person asleep at the wheel has not relinquished control and remains in a position to regulate the vehicle's movements. The immobility of the stuck vehicle is irrelevant to the question of control. Furthermore, the borrow pit is considered part of the "highways of the State of Montana" because testimony established it was within a right-of-way "dedicated to public use," which falls under the broad statutory definition of "highway" in section 61-1-201, MCA.
Analysis:
This decision solidifies a broad interpretation of "actual physical control" in DUI-related statutes, focusing on the potential danger an intoxicated person poses rather than on the vehicle's movement. It establishes that neither the driver's state of consciousness (asleep) nor the vehicle's operational status (immobile/stuck) negates control. This precedent makes it easier for the state to prosecute individuals found in parked or disabled vehicles while intoxicated, advancing a preventative public policy goal. The ruling also clarifies the geographic scope of such statutes by interpreting "highway" to include public rights-of-way beyond the paved road surface.
