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State v. One Blue Corvette6/28/1999
Submitted on Briefs: April 15, 1999
Charles and Diana Audette appeal from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Waldo County, Mead, J.) granting the State's motion for forfeiture of the Audettes' automobile, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2421 (1996). On appeal, the Audettes contend that the court erred by granting forfeiture of their automobile after it determined that, although the Audettes owned the automobile jointly, Mr. Audette was a "sole owner-operator" within the meaning of 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2421(1). We agree and vacate the judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
For purposes of our analysis, the facts are undisputed. On September 9, 1997, a police officer observed Audette traveling in the left-hand lane of the road at an excessive rate of speed. When the officer pursued Audette and signaled him to pull over, Audette attempted to elude the officer. After finally being stopped, Audette submitted to a breath test at the Waldo County Sheriff's Department. The test revealed a blood-alcohol content of .14%. Audette was arrested for eluding an officer, pursuant 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414(3) (1996), operating after suspension, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2412-A(1) (1996), operating under the influence, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2411(1) (1996), and failure to stop, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2414(2) (1996). At the time of his arrest, Audette's license was under suspension for a previous OUI conviction. He was indicted on all charges and the State subsequently filed a motion for forfeiture of his vehicle, pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2421(1). The court granted Diana Audette's motion to intervene in the forfeiture action.
Audette pled guilty to operating under the influence, operating after suspension, and eluding an officer, and, following sentencing, the court conducted a hearing on the forfeiture motion. The hearing disclosed that Audette had been operating a blue 1978 Chevrolet Corvette at the time of his arrest, that the Audettes had purchased the Corvette on April 3, 1997, and that the bill of sale identified both Diana and Charles Audette as purchasers of the automobile.
The court determined that the Audettes were joint owners of the automobile, each holding "an undivided one half interest in the property." The court then addressed the application of the statute and concluded that the State was entitled to forfeiture of the Corvette.
II. DISCUSSION
Section 2421(1) reads as follows:
"1. Forfeiture. After notice and hearing, a motor vehicle must be forfeited to the State when a defendant is:"
"A. The sole owner-operator of that vehicle; and"
"B. Convicted of:"
"(1) OUI; and"
"(2) A simultaneous offense of operating after suspension when the underlying suspension was imposed for a prior OUI conviction."
"The court shall order the forfeiture unless another person satisfies the court prior to the judgment and by a preponderance of the evidence that the other person had a right to possess that motor vehicle, to the exclusion of the defendant, at the time of the offense." 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2421(1).
The court concluded that it could not give meaning to the final paragraph of the section unless that paragraph was interpreted to modify the "sole owner-operator" language of paragraph A to allow forfeiture of a jointly held vehicle except in those cases where the joint owner could establish that she had the right to possession of the vehicle to the exclusion of the defendant. Because Diana Audette's joint ownership did not give her the right to exclude Charles from possession, the court concluded that her joint ownership did not preclude
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