Conviction in Drunken Parking Case Reversed
Maryland’s highest court has thrown out the conviction of a man sentenced for being parked while intoxicated, saying that no such crime exists.
The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that an intoxicated person sitting in a parked auto cannot be convicted of drunken driving.
The ruling came in the case of Boyce C. Atkinson of Bunnell, Fla., who was arrested by a Harford County sheriff’s deputy and charged with driving under the influence in 1992. Atkinson’s Jeep was parked on the shoulder of U.S. 40, and he was asleep in his vehicle, with the key in the ignition.
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