“I think I can, I think I can” Puts You “In Control” for DUI Laws

State v. Fleck, Minn.S.Ct., 01/21/2010.  Police found Mr. Fleck asleep behind the wheel of his car, which was lawfully parked in the apartment complex parking lot where he lived; the keys were in the console between the front bucket seats.  The Court of Appeals had agreed with the trial court that Mr. Fleck was in control of the car for DUI purposes.   The Minnesota Supreme Court granted review back in March and now affirms the Court of Appeals.

The police had found Mr. Fleck asleep behind the wheel; when questioned, he admitted to having drank ten to twelve beers but he denied that he had been driving the car.  Mr. Fleck gave two different reasons for why he was in the car.  The car was “cold to the touch,” the lights were off and the car did not appear to have been running.  Mr. Fleck told the officers that the car was operable but the officers did not independently verify this assertion.  Shortly before trial, the cops did try to start the car with the key that had been in the console; although the key turned the ignition, the car did not start.

The appellate court concludes that Mr. Fleck was in “physical control” of the car, as that term has been interpreted:

Physical control is meant to cover situations when an intoxicated person “is found in a parked vehicle under circumstances in which the [vehicle], without too much difficulty, might again be started and become a source of danger to the operator, to others, or to property.” State v. Starfield, 481 N.W.2d 834, 837 (Minn. 1992).