State v. Greenman

Decision Date22 January 2013
Docket NumberNo. A12–1605.,A12–1605.
Citation825 N.W.2d 387
PartiesSTATE of Minnesota, Appellant, v. Mark Alan GREENMAN, Respondent.
CourtMinnesota Court of Appeals

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Syllabus by the Court

A person operating a “Segway” electric personal assistive mobility device is not a driver of a motor vehicle and is not, therefore, subject to the prohibitions of the Minnesota Impaired Driving Code, Minn. Stat. ch. 169A (2010).Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN; and Steven M. Tallen, Tallen and Baertschi, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant.

Mark A. Greenman, Minneapolis, MN, attorney pro se.

Considered and decided by HUDSON, Presiding Judge; CHUTICH, Judge; and KLAPHAKE, Judge.

OPINION

CHUTICH, Judge.

The State of Minnesota challenges dismissal of third-degree driving-while-impaired (DWI) charges against respondent Mark Alan Greenman, contending that the district court erred in concluding that a “Segway” electric personal assistive mobility device (Segway) is not included in the definition of “motor vehicle” in the DWI statute. SeeMinn.Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 15. Because we conclude that Greenman's operation of a Segway did not make him a driver of a motor vehicle under Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 1, we affirm.

FACTS

According to the complaint, just after five p.m. on February 4, 2012, Greenman attempted to travel a short distance to his home in Medina using his Segway. After traveling along the walking path, Greenman entered the road, and twice drifted across the center line of the road before being stopped by a Medina police officer. The first time Greenman drifted over the line, a vehicle purportedly had to slow down to avoid striking the Segway.

During the stop, the officer noticed that Greenman showed signs of intoxication and asked him to perform field sobriety tests, which Greenman failed. The officer arrested Greenman on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, and a breath test revealed that he had an alcohol concentration of .19.

Greenman was charged with three offenses: (1) third-degree DWI (driving under the influence of alcohol), (2) third-degree DWI (driving with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more); and (3) failure to operate a personal assistive mobility device with due care. Minn.Stat. §§ 169A.20, subd. 1(1), (5), 169.212, subd. 2(c) (2010).1 Greenman moved to dismiss the first two charges, asserting that a Segway is not a motor vehicle for purposes of criminal prosecution under the impaired-driving code.

The district court granted Greenman's motion to dismiss. In so ruling, it analyzed the applicable and analogous statutes defining motor vehicles and relied upon an opinion issued by this court, State v. Brown, 801 N.W.2d 186 (Minn.App.2011). The district court also referenced an earlier dismissal of a DWI count, again involving Greenman's operation of a Segway. In that earlier prosecution, the district court deemed Greenman to be a pedestrian who could not be charged under Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, the DWI provision. Similarly, the district court here concluded that when Greenman was operating the Segway, he “was not committing driving conduct” because he was acting as a pedestrian as a matter of law under § 169.212, subd. 1 [2010].” The state appealed.

ISSUE

Did the district court correctly determine as a matter of law that Greenman was acting as a pedestrian when operating his Segway and thus was not subject to prosecution for driving a motor vehicle under the Minnesota Impaired Driving Code?

ANALYSIS

The state may appeal from a probable-cause dismissal order “based on [a] question[ ] of law.” Minn. R.Crim. P. 28.04, subd. 1(1). Here, the state met the required showing of critical impact on its ability to successfully prosecute Greenman because the district court dismissed the DWI charges as a result of its ruling. See State v. Scott, 584 N.W.2d 412, 416 (Minn.1998) (stating that, to appeal a pretrial order in a felony case, the state must show that the order will have a “critical impact on the state's ability to prosecute the defendant successfully and that the order constituted error” (quotation omitted)). The parties' dispute centers on interpretation of statutes, which involves questions of law subject to de novo review. State v. Fleck, 810 N.W.2d 303, 307 (Minn.2012).

When construing a statute, this court is required to consider that “the legislature intends the entire statute to be effective.” State v. Fleming, 724 N.W.2d 537, 539 (Minn.App.2006) (quoting Minn.Stat. § 645.17). We are to read and construe a statute as a whole and must interpret each section in light of the surrounding sections to avoid conflicting interpretations.” Brown, 801 N.W.2d at 188 (quoting Am. Family Ins. Group v. Schroedl, 616 N.W.2d 273, 277 (Minn.2000)).

“Where the legislature's intent is clearly discernible from plain and unambiguous language, statutory construction is neither necessary nor permitted and we apply the statute's plain meaning.” Hans Hagen Homes, Inc. v. City of Minnetrista, 728 N.W.2d 536, 539 (Minn.2007). But courts should construe a statute to avoid absurd results and unjust consequences.” Am. Family, 616 N.W.2d at 278. And reviewing courts “should give a reasonable and sensible construction to criminal statutes.” State v. Murphy, 545 N.W.2d 909, 916 (Minn.1996).

In dismissing the criminal charges against Greenman, the district court relied upon this court's decision in State v. Brown, which analyzed the interplay of definitional provisions in chapters 169 and 169A, the traffic-regulations code and the driving-while-impaired code. 801 N.W.2d at 188–89. Because Brown analyzed the same statutory provisions at issue here concerning the same category of transportation device that includes a Segway—“an electric personal assistive mobility device”we conclude that Brown is binding. See State v. M.L.A., 785 N.W.2d 763, 767 (Minn.App.2010) (stating that the court of appeals “is bound by supreme court precedent and the published opinions of the court of appeals), review denied (Minn. Sept. 21, 2010).

In Brown, this court held that a mobility scooter is not a motor vehicle for purposes of a DWI prosecution. 801 N.W.2d at 189. In doing so, we found that, to avoid “conflict and an absurd result,” we must construe the relevant language of the DWI code together with the relevant provisions of chapter 169, governing traffic regulations in Minnesota. Id.

This approach is consistent with the plain language defining terms in the DWI code. For example, the DWI code specifically directs the court to use definitions provided in section 169.011 (the definitional provision of the traffic-regulations chapter) if a term used in the DWI statute is not defined within the DWI code. Minn.Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 1(b). The DWI code's definitional provision also recognizes that defined terms in the DWI chapter have the meanings given “unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.” Id., subd. 1(a).

In reaching its result, the Brown court first analyzed the provisions of chapter 169, governing traffic regulations. It noted that the definition of “motor vehicle” in that chapter specifically excluded “an electric personal assistive mobility device.” Brown, 801 N.W.2d at 188. After analyzing the terms “driver,” “vehicle,” “pedestrian,” and “wheelchair,” the court concluded that, under the traffic regulations chapter, Brown's scooter was not a motor vehicle and that Brown was, “while operating his scooter, a pedestrian.” Id.

The Brown court next analyzed the language of one of the DWI provisions at issue here making it a crime for “any person to drive, operate, or be in physical control of any motor vehicle, as defined in section 169A.03, subdivision 15 ... when the person's alcohol concentration ... is 0.08 or more.” 801 N.W.2d at 189 (quoting Minn.Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 1(5)). It then narrowed the broad definition of “motor vehicle” found in section 169A.03, subdivision 15 (“every vehicle that is self-propelled ... but does not include a vehicle moved solely by human power”) by following the statutory cross-reference to the definition of “vehicle” contained in chapter 169, governing traffic regulations. Id. (discussing Minn.Stat. §§ 169A.03, subd. 25, 169.011, subd. 92).

The Brown court ultimately determined that Brown's mobility scooter was a wheelchair that did “not meet the definition of ‘vehicle,’ because it is generally not a ‘device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported ... upon a highway.’ Id. at 189 (quoting Minn.Stat. § 169.011, subd. 92). Accordingly, because Brown's scooter was not a “vehicle,” the court concluded that it was not a “motor vehicle,” as that term is used in the DWI laws. Id.

The Brown court's interpretation of the traffic and DWI statutes applies equally to Segways. The DWI statutes do not define a “personal assistive mobility device,” but that term is defined in the traffic-regulations chapter as “a self-balancing device with two nontandem wheels, designed to transport not more than one person, and operated by an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to 15 miles per hour.” Minn.Stat. § 169.011, subd. 26 (2010).

A Segway meets this definition because it is a two-wheeled, self-balancing, battery-powered device designed for use in places a car or bicycle cannot go, including in buildings. See Segway, The Segway PT: An Overview, http:// www. Segway. com/ individual/ learn- how- works. php (last visited Jan. 14, 2013). Just like Brown's scooter, the Segway is an “electric personal assistive mobility device” that is specifically excluded from chapter 169's definition of “motor vehicle.” Minn.Stat. § 169.011, subd. 42 (2010) (defining “motor vehicle” in relevant part as “every vehicle which is self-propelled,” but “does not include an electric personal assistive mobility device”). In addition, the traffic regulations specifically provide that “a person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device has the rights and responsibilities of a...

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