State v. Nekolite
Annotate this Case
After drinking heavily, Defendant opened the passenger door to his truck to get a cigarette. In doing so, Defendant inadvertently bumped the gear shift, causing it to pop into neutral. The truck then rolled into a parked vehicle. Defendant was subsequently convicted of being in “actual physical control” of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded with instructions to vacate the judgment of conviction, holding that Defendant’s actions did not put him in such control as would enable him to actually operate the vehicle in its usually and ordinary manner, nor did Defendant’s actions reflect any exercise of dominion or control over the vehicle.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.