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Important OUI Decisions |
Vehicular Crimes OUI Public Way Commonwealth v. Kiss 59 Mass.App.Ct. 247 (2003) The parking lot of a closed shopping mall qualifies as a "public way" where services at the mall (ATM, payphones, etc.) could be accessed even when the stores were closed. The defendant was found passed out in his car, which was parked with the motor running in the parking lot of a closed shopping mall. Based on observations of the police, he was arrested and eventually convicted for operating under the influence of alcohol. On appeal, the defendant claims that, since the shopping mall was closed at the time of the incident, the parking lot cannot be a "way to which the public had access as invitees or licensees" as defined by G.L. c. 90, §24(1)(a)(1). The Appeals Court disagreed. Given that there were services at the mall that could be accessed after hours (i.e., an ATM, pay telephone, newspaper distribution boxes), there was a "reasonable expectation that members of the public were welcome to operate their vehicles in the parking lot in order to access those services that were uniquely available when the shops were closed." On another note, the defendant argued that, as a matter of public policy, he should not have been convicted of OUI because once he felt the effects of alcohol, he removed his car from the roadway (the "shelter defense"). The Appeals Court declined to adopt the shelter defense, reasoning that the more prudent course of action is to "anticipate and ascertain [one's] ability to operate a motor vehicle before attempting to do so." Contact your MA OUI Lawyer to learn more about how these OUI Case decisions affect you. |
