Do police have jurisdiction on a private road?
An interesting question has come up in regards to a woman charged with DUI (Driving Under the Influence of alcohol) in Brookfield CT.
Peg Roth, a 41 year old resident of Brookfield CT, was charged in 2005 for DUI while driving on Orchard Drive, which is part of a private lakeside community in Danbury CT.
Her lawyer is appealing the conviction based on an interesting legal point. He contends that the area in which Roth was arrested is part of the Pleasant Acres Homeowners’ Association and is not a public road! The prosecutor and jury agreed, at trial, that it was a public road.
Her lawyer states that in order for a road to be considered a “public road” it must fall under the control of the state, town or other “political subdivision” of the state. The road on which Roth was arrested lies under the control of Pleasant Acres, not the state or city and thusly he hopes to prove that the police had no jurisdiction in arresting his client.
Not only that but… She was arrested in a *parked* car while *sleeping* ! The road on which she was arrested also bears no speed limit sign and according to state statute, “in order for a DUI to apply it has to be a public road or a private road with the posted speed.”
I would be remiss to not tell you that the woman charged does have a history of DUI. It is also important to note that when the police arrived the car was running with it’s lights on. The woman also refused to take a breathalyzer test and was still charged with DUI .
The core of this case is not as to whether or not Roth was guilty but as to whether or not the police have jurisdiction to arrest someone for DUI when they are on a “private” road.
Source - New Milford News Times
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of course they have jurisdiction. Saying they didnt would open up a precedence where a mmurderer could kill someone there, and get away with it, because “it is not thier jurisdiction”.
For that matter, she may have been stopped, but lets put it in a what if context. What if she had hit and kill somoenes child on this road? Would she still not get charged? Somehow, I doubt it.
A DUI is a DUI, as far as I am concerend, that law has no shades of grey, if you are intoxicated, and behind the wheel of a vehicle, you deserve what you get.
Amazing. How did we get from DUI on a private road to dead kids and homocide? DUI is DRIVING under the influence, not parking and sleeping. What about DUI in your driveway? How about in your garage? New idea… how about DUI requires a moving vehicle. Have you ever heard of a drunk person killing a motorist or pedestrian when the car was stopped? DUI laws are arcane and foolish, just like your comments. A crime like murder or vehicular manslaughter have never nor ever will be out of the jurisdiction of the police. But… civil regulations related to DRIVING require someone to BE driving and on a road the police are supposed to regulate, not private roads..