A Ukiah man was found not guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol after he claimed the “necessity defense,” arguing he needed to flee to avoid injury when his wife caught him cheating with another woman, the Mendocino County district attorney’s office reported.
After a four-day trial last week, a Mendocino County Superior Court jury accepted the argument that the 60-year-old man’s inebriated driving was justified under the circumstances.
District Attorney David Eyster said that although the “prosecution argued the law of necessity is not intended and has never been applied to such a factual situation, the trial judge nevertheless allowed the jury to consider the necessity defense as possibly justifying the under-the-influence driving.”
Testimony was presented that the defendant “had been caught in flagrante delicto by his wife, and his driving was necessary to allow him to escape two angry women,” Eyster said.
While fleeing the scene, he was pulled over by a law enforcement officer and it was discovered his blood alcohol content was over 0.08%.
Eyster said a defendant using the necessity defense must prove factors including:
- He acted in an emergency to prevent a significant bodily harm or evil to himself or someone else;
- He had no adequate legal alternative;
- The defendant’s driving under the influence did not create a greater danger than the one avoided.
Hits: 0
