Case Law Updates:
Nov. 15 – Nov. 21
DWI
Offense Was Not Intoxication-Related
Statutes govern driving while intoxicated enhanced offenses for persistent offenders. Statutes defined persistent offenders by previous findings or pleas of guilty for an “intoxication-related traffic offense,” meaning “driving while intoxicated . . . or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in violation of state law or a county or municipal ordinance.” “[A] statute’s reference to a defendant’s prior “convictions [directs] the sentencing court to look only to the fact that the defendant had been convicted of crimes falling within certain categories, and not to the facts underlying the prior convictions.” Missouri statutes bar driving under impairment from alcohol and drugs, while Illinois statutes barred driving after mere ingestion of alcohol or drugs, without regard to impairment. Therefore, showing a conviction under the Illinois statute did not show actual driving, so it did not show an alcohol-related offense. Remanded for conviction under the lesser enhancement for a prior offender and re-sentencing accordingly.
State of Missouri vs. Dean Alan Rigsby
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District – WD82018