DUI while sitting in parked car
My daughter was arrested last night for a DUI--she was sitting in her car parked on a street, not blocking traffic,car was turned off, sitting in a position in driver's seat where she did not have physical control of vehicle. When officer saw parked car he stopped, she put her legs down from seat. 2 other friends were in the car. He asked her to step out of car and take 3 part sobriety test. She has a balance problem to begin with and failed the one leg part and partially past others. They arrested her for this. BAC level was .157 then .149. I do not know if she actually drove to the location. No proof of that.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: DUI while sitting in parked car
Actual physical Control, as the other lawyers mentioned, is all that the state will have to prove.
Basically that she could drive the car if she wanted to.
Do you know if the keys were in the ignition?
and how was she sitting in the seat?
If you would like to speak further, my office is here in Broward County where I previously worked as a prosecutor.
best of luck,
-Leland 954.524.2424
Re: DUI while sitting in parked car
While your daughter's arrest was not unlawful (the police can arrest someone for a DUI who is not driving, but in "actual physical control" on the vehicle. This is determined by a number of factors such as: whether the car was on, whether she was in the driver seat, whether the keys were in the ignition or within her reach, etc.
She'll want to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney in your local area who can hopefully negotiate with the State Attorney's Office for a reduction of the charge down from a DUI. This is especially true because of her breath test results which may subject her to additional fines and a mandatory ignition interlock condition before she can get her DL back.
Good luck.
Aaron J. Slavin, Esq.
Re: DUI while sitting in parked car
You didn't ask any question, but if you did I presume that you are asking whether a person can be arrested for dui in Florida by being in the driver seat. The answer is yes. It is called actual physical control - depends on a variety of factors, including location in car, where the keys are (if in ignition is a bad thing for your daughter) etc. To defend your daughter her attorney will look at the stop, and see if there is any way to suppress the evidence such as the blows and the FST's. I would be happy to discuss this with you if you are in the Tampa Bay area.
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