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State v. Minnig9/30/2004
The facts are not disputed. On January 25, 2004, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Minnig was driving his truck on the frozen surface of Beaver Dam Lake. Minnig was returning from a tavern on the other side of the lake. Sheriff Corporal Paul Nell responded to a complaint that Minnig was driving recklessly, chasing snowmobilers and ice fishermen. Corporal Nell discovered Minnig sitting in his truck, which was stuck on the frozen surface 300 feet from the shoreline, with a blown tire. Corporal Nell arrested Minnig after smelling alcohol on his breath and observing that his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred.
The trial court granted Minnig's motion to dismiss the complaint, concluding that a frozen lake did not constitute a premises held out to the public for use of their motor vehicles under Wis. Stat. § 346.61. The State appeals.
DISCUSSION
The issue in this case is whether the frozen surface of a public lake constitutes "premises held out to the public for use of their motor vehicles" under Wis. Stat. § 346.61.*fn2 This is a question of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. In re Commitment of Lombard, 2004 WI 95, , __ Wis. 2d __, 684 N.W.2d 103.
Minnig argues that the frozen surface of a public lake cannot be a premises. He asserts that a lake is not a "premises," citing Kenosha v. Phillips, 142 Wis. 2d 549, 419 N.W.2d 236 (1988). Phillips stated that "[t]he term `premises' ... appears to mean any parcel of land or real estate, including any appurtenances thereon." Phillips, 142 Wis. 2d at 556. Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Ed. (1991), p. 1180, defines "premises" as "land with its appurtenances and structures thereon." Similarly, the five dictionaries cited by the circuit court each indicate that the word "premises" signifies land and structures upon that land. Minnig adds that Phillips rejected any attempt to apply the statute in an extremely broad manner. Phillips, 142 Wis. 2d at 555.
However, the issue in Phillips was not whether the area on which the offense was committed was a "premises," but whether the "premises" were "held out" for public use. Phillips, 142 Wis. 2d at 556-57. In Phillips, a driver was charged with intoxicated operation of a motor vehicle in a privately owned parking lot that the State asserted was held out for public use. Id. at 552-53. The court disagreed, holding that the lot, which was marked for employees only with a warning that all others would be towed, was not held out for public use. Id. at 556. Neither Phillips, nor any other Wisconsin case, has addressed the applicability of Wis. Stat. § 346.61 to a frozen lake surface.
When a term is not defined within a statute, definitions of that term from other statutes may provide insight into the meaning of the term. See Storm v. Legion Ins. Co., 2003 WI 120, , 265 Wis.2d 169, 665 N.W.2d 353. Definitions of "premises" in contexts involving statutes which (like the statute before us) serve a public safety purpose impart broad meaning to the term "premises." A statutory subsection relating to the regulation of toxic substances allows the Department of Natural Resources to define "premises" by rule where necessary to capture all "classes of buildings and facilities" found "to pose a significant risk of contributing to the lead poisoning or lead exposure of children under 6 years of age." Wis. Stat. § 254.11 (10m)(b). In the same chapter, a section that forbids the sale of tobacco to minors states that "`[t]obacco vending machine premises' means any area in which a tobacco vending machine is located." Wis. Stat. § 254.911(10). Likewise, a statute relating to penalties for violent crimes committed in a school zone defines "school premises" as "any school buildin
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