Owens v. State

Owens v. State
Author:- Lexi

Facts: The plaintiff, Owens, was found with alcohol in his car and a bottle of beer between his legs, by a police officer. The police officer responded to a call of a “suspicious vehicle” and found Owens unconscious with alcohol on his breath sitting in a driveway with the car running and the lights on. The P refused to take an alcohol test. He also had alcohol restrictions on his license. The judge in the lwr court found that the P should be convicted of driving while intoxicated. The P is appealing on the basis of presumption of innocence being that he felt that there was insufficient evidence to prove he was indeed driving, while drunk (he was just sitting in the driveway with the car running). P also notes that the driveway is not a highway and not covered by the Transportation Article by which he was convicted.

Issue: Is there sufficient evidence to conclude that P was drunk driving?

Holding: Yes. There is sufficient evident to conclude that the driver was drunk and driving.

The appellate court affirmed the finding of the lower court.

Reasoning: There are two choices: the driver had just entered the car and passed out from intoxication and not driven, or he had been driving and just pulled into the driveway. The fact the P was sitting in the driveway implies that he was driving on the highway earlier. The 3 beer cans in the car and the state of unconsciousness infer that the P was at a terminal stage. Also the fact that there was a call made to the officer on the basis that the p represented a “suspicious vehicle” infers that the p was acting erratically and not in a familiar area. Although these do not prove the guilt of the P, they point out that it is LESS REASONABLE TO PRESUME INNOCENCE.

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