When someone is charged with a drunk driving, there are a number of things that can be done to challenge the prosecutor's case. You can challenge the justification for the being stopped, you can challenge the way in which field sobriety tests were administered, and you can dispute the breathalyzer or blood tests used by law enforcement. However, a recent case heard in the Superior Court shows another way in which a DUI charge may be defeated or overturned.

The case involved a man named Victor Verdekal who was found by police sleeping in his car with the engine running. Verdekal was arrested on suspicion of DUI and later found to have a blood alcohol concentration of almost twice the legal limit.  However, when prosecutors attempted to prosecute him, they were told they could not use their evidence because it had been collected without the probable cause necessary to make the initial arrest.

The reasoning behind this result, as affirmed by the Superior Court, is that under Pennsylvania law a driver must be in "actual physical control" of the vehicle in order to be convicted of a DUI. This standard has caused some controversy, but the courts have interpreted this to mean that an individual must essentially move the vehicle in order to be charged.

Simply being intoxicated and being behind the wheel is not, standing alone, enough to support a conviction. However, each case is based on its own facts and the courts will look at all of the surrounding facts in determining how to rule on each case. In a situation where there is additional evidence that the driver may have been driving, for example, if the car is parked on a curb or next to a recently run-over mailbox, it may be reasonable to infer that the driver had been driving under the influence.

While this interpretation of the law has been criticized by many, especially police and prosecutors, others have pointed out that there is some good public policy behind it. If an individual that realizes he or she should not be driving is not allowed to sleep it off in their car without fear of receiving a DUI, they may be more prone to attempt to drive home.

Prosecutors have indicated they may attempt to the appeal the Verdekal case to the Supreme Court.

Related Resource:

Decision on DUI frustrates officials (The Times Leader)