January 27, 2010

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 10:06 am

The defendant, who was represented by Attorney Topazio, was arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol (also known as OUI or DWI) when he was found unconscious in his motor vehicle, with an open bottle of vodka, the keys in the ignition and with the radio on. The client informed Attorney Topazio that despite being intoxicated, he never drove while impaired but rather, after being unable to find employment, damaged the steering column of his motor vehicle when parking it, and when he was unable to remove the key from the ignition, walked to a local liquor store, bought a bottle of vodka and drank it in his disabled motor vehicle and became intoxicated instead of walking home unemployed to face his wife and kids. Attorney Topazio hired a private investigator to corroborate his client’s story and to prepare the case for trial. Under Massachusetts law, “Operation” is not limited to driving a vehicle or setting it in motion, but encompasses also the intentional act of starting the vehicle’s engine; that is does any act or makes use of any mechanical or electrical agency which alone or in sequence will set in motion the motive power of the vehicle. Attorney Topazio argued at trial that an intoxicated driver asleep in a motor vehicle with the key in the ignition may warrant an inference of operation, but argued that the inference is rebuttable. Attorney Topazio proved that although his client was intoxicated when found by the police after conducting a well-being check, he did not drive while impaired but rather got drunk in his car. After trial the defendant was found not guilty.