The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a Kansas man who was found in a parked car, yet convicted of drunk driving. The State’s highest court agrees that the jury didn’t receive clear instructions that a person has to be driving in order to be convicted of drunk driving
So, the eastern Kansas man will receive a new trial. The court case dates back to 2018, when a deputy found the man in his parked car at 3:00 in the morning, acting drunk. There was beer in his car. A deputy testified at trial that the man’s headlights and radio were on, so he was operating his car while drunk. But the defense argued that’s not the same as driving and that the man may have become drunk after pulling over.
In November, 2018, the man left a restaurant at 10:00 in the evening in eastern Kansas. On his way home, he pulled over and slept. A deputy later found him sleeping in his car, but it’s not clear if the man was drunk before or after he pulled over.
