 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Rivera1/30/2004
nned to testify that E. had been driving and that the state would expand its theory of prosecution to include that scenario.
IV.
16 Finally, we reject Rivera's suggestion that the behavior ascribed to him by A. and E. did not constitute actual physical control for the purposes of Arizona's DUI statutes. His argument is based in large part on the "actual physical control" jury instruction we articulated in Dawley: that the defendant there "was in 'actual physical control' of the vehicle if, based on the totality of the circumstances shown by the evidence, his potential use of the vehicle presented a real danger to himself or others." Dawley, 201 Ariz. 285, 9, 34 P.3d 394, 9. We proffered this instruction as one that would be acceptable for the facts presented in Dawley, not as an all-encompassing legal definition of actual physical control appropriate to all fact patterns. See footnote 1, supra. In light of the purpose of the actual physical control provision, however, we conclude that, a passenger who grabs the steering wheel of a moving car and alters the car's movement has assumed actual physical control for purposes of the DUI statutes. See Atkinson v. State, 331 Md. 199, 627 A.2d 1019, 1027 (1993) (similar "actual physical control" provision encompasses "directing influence" on a vehicle); State v. Ruona, 133 Mont. 243, 321 P.2d 615, 618 (1958) (same); Parker v. State, 424 P.2d 997, 1000 (Okla.Crim.App.1967) (same); see also United States Fid. & Guar. Co. v. Hokanson, 2 Kan.App.2d 580, 584 P.2d 1264, 1267 (1978) (where accident resulted from front-seat passenger's suddenly pulling on steering wheel, causing driver to lose control of vehicle, "[b]y grabbing the wheel and exerting a force on it, [the passenger] obtained control of the vehicle, even though for only an instant").
17 We affirm the judgments of conviction and the probationary terms imposed.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Arizona DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|