Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday that would allow some people to keep their vehicles if someone else was convicted of driving drunk in it.
Under the current law, some individuals are forced to forfeit their vehicle even if someone else was driving drunk in their vehicle. For example, if a woman was letting her boyfriend borrow her car for the weekend, and the boyfriend ended up earning a DUI, the woman may have had to forfeit her vehicle to police even though she was not involved in the arrest. As you can see, this would cause serious problems for a vehicle owner in terms of getting around, driving to work or picking up their kids even though they were an innocent party in the matter. This is a loophole that Gov. Dayton sought to close.
“This reform reflects the important balance between public safety and the rights of innocent vehicle owners,” Dayton said, adding that this measure ensures innocent parties aren’t unjustly punished.
Car Forfeiture Stipulations
The legislation suggests that innocent vehicle owners will not be forced to forfeit their vehicle after a DUI involving a different driver so long as the driver was using it without permission or the owner’s knowledge. Now it doesn’t specify exactly what that means, but a good criminal defense lawyer should be able to argue that the language means you didn’t let them knowingly drive drunk in your vehicle, not just knowingly drive the vehicle.
Obviously the woman in the above scenario gave her boyfriend permission to drive the car, but that permission was likely granted on an unspoken agreement that he would not drive it while intoxicated. This law won’t really won’t change anything if it’s only valid if the person did not know their car was being used at all by the offender.
The basis for the law is sound. Rep. Marion O’Neill, R-Maple Lake, who sponsored the bill, said the current law punishes innocent people who need a vehicle.
“For spouses or family members who did not know their vehicle would be used unlawfully, it is problematic for the state to confiscate it from them,” O’Neill said. “This new law will give Minnesota citizens their right to a day in court to plead their case before a judge to have their property returned to them.”
The law should certainly help a number of families in Minnesota, as the most recent data shows that Minnesotans forfeited 6,722 vehicles in 2015.
