Public or Semi-Public Roadway Required for Mass. DUI Conviction
To sustain a DUI conviction, the Massachusetts OUI Law requires that the crime be committed on a public roadway or one that is available to the public as invitees or licensees. Recently, in the case of Commonwealth v. Stoddard, the Massachusetts Appeals Court overturned a DUI conviction because the intoxicated operation did not occur on a public roadway.
Brian Stoddard drove while he was intoxicated on the roadways of a privately-owed campground in Salisbury, Massachusetts. There was only one gated entrance to the campground and access was controlled by electronic key cards, which were issued to registered campers. Certain visitors were also given gate cards.
In overturning Stoddard's OUI conviction, the Appeals Court announced the following rule: "[T]he essential question ... is whether the way is available for public use ... If the invitation or license is one that extends (or appears, from the character of the way, to extend) to the general public, the way is covered; if instead the license or invitation is privately extended to a limited class, the way is not covered."
The Appeals Court further noted that the decision in this case may call into question the enforceability of the Massachusetts OUI Law in "gated communities," gated private resorts, or even some college campuses, where public access is restricted.
