A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
7
August 3, 2017
N
ORTHVILLE
Art House features exhibit of ‘Color Wash’ work
The unusual arrest of a
Northville man in 2014 for driv-
ing drunk in his own driveway
has drawn national attention
after a surprising ruling last
week by the Michigan Supreme
Court.
In this latest decision, judges
on the high court have reversed
the ruling of the Michigan Court
of Appeals and sent the case back
down to the lower courts. The
case began when Gino Robert
Rea, 47-years-old at the time of
his arrest in 2014, was charged
with operating while intoxicated
under MCL 257.625 (1), which
reads in part, “A person . . . shall
not operate a vehicle upon a
highway or other place open to
the general public or generally
accessible to motor vehicles,
including an area designated for
the parking of vehicles . . . if the
person is operating while intoxi-
cated.”
Police reports and court
records show that two Northville
police officers found Rea seated
in his car, in the driveway next to
his house, with the drivers' door
ajar listening to loud music after
a neighbor had objected to the
noise and called officers to the
scene. The officers instructed
Rea to turndown themusic.
When the same neighbor
called police for the second time
with the same complaint about
loud music, one officer returned
to Rea's residence, but found no
music playing. When the third
noise complaint dispatch was
issued, Northville PoliceOfc. Ken
Delano parked on the street near
Rea's home and began walking
up his driveway. According to
police reports of the incident, the
door to the detached garage at
Rea's residence opened and his
vehicle backed out for “about 25
feet” before stopping. At that
point the car was still in Rea's
side or back yard.
Court records state the officer
shined his flashlight to alert Rea
that he was in the driveway. Rea
stopped his car in the driveway;
next to the house then put his car
in drive and pulled forward into
the garage, bumping into stored
items in the back of the garage.
Police said Rea smelled of alco-
hol and his speech was slurred
and was arrested for Operating a
vehicle While Intoxicated (OWI)
after he refused to take field
sobriety tests. Rea's blood alcohol
level was later determined to be
three times the legal limit.
After his arraignment on the
charge, Rea's attorney moved to
quash that information. The
lower court granted the motion
and dismissed the charge, finding
that the upper portion of defen-
dant's driveway, closest to the
garage, was not a place generally
accessible to motor vehicles for
purposes of criminal liability
underMCL257.625(1).
Prosecutors pursued the
charges, taking the matter to the
MichiganCourt of Appeals.
Last April, Court Justice
Elizabeth L. Gleicher wrote in
the opinion for a divided three-
judge panel of the Michigan
Court of Appeals, that since Rea
drove but only in this private area
after consuming alcohol the
“chargeswere not supportable.”
The SupremeCourt jurists dis-
agreed, however, and on Monday,
July 24, issued an opinion that
stated, “The Michigan Court of
Appeals erred by affirming the
trial court dismissal of the oper-
ating a motor vehicle while intox-
icated (OWI) charge against
defendant, Gino Rea, in violation
ofMCL257.625(1).
In an unusual opinion by
JusticeRichardBernstein, joined
by Chief Justice Steven J.
Markman and Justices Brian K.
Zahra and Kurtis T. Wilder, the
Michigan Supreme Court held
that the Northville Police
Department could charge Rea
with drunken driving, even if his
car never left the driveway.
Dissenting Justices Bridget
McCormack and David Viviano
cautioned that the Court went too
far to assume that the Michigan
Legislature intended to extend
the scope of the statute prohibit-
ing OWI to include the private
property of individual homeown-
ers.
Bernstein in his opinion sum-
mation wrote: “We hold that
defendant's driveway is an area
'generally accessible to motor
vehicles' for purposes of MCL
257.625(1). Because defendant
allegedly operated a motor vehi-
cle in his driveway while intoxi-
cated, the prosecution estab-
lished probable cause that defen-
dant violated MCL 257.625.
“Accordingly, we reverse the judg-
ment of the Court of Appeals,
vacate the trial court's dismissal
of the case, and remand to the
trial court for further proceed-
ings consistent with this opinion.”
The Northville Art House will
present The GradedWash Juried
Watercolor Exhibition, featuring
29 artists' work in watercolor,
gouache, and other media to cre-
ate 44 colorful works.
The exhibit includes land-
scapes, seascapes, and portraits,
as well as, animal, plant and
abstract motifs. Juror Jill Stefani
Wagner selected the works from
86 diverse entries. An opening
reception is planned from 6-9
p.m. Aug. 4 with an awards pres-
entation and juror's talk at 7 p.m.
to celebrate participating artists:
Joyce Bailey (Ypsilanti),
Barbara
Baker
(West
Bloomfield), Marchelle Brotz
(Northville), Jean Canavan
(Saline), Janice Dumas (Milford),
Carol Evert (Saline), Espacia
Fotiu (Ferndale), Sandra Hanert
(Brighton), Jennifer Helner
(Lowell), Christine Ingersoll
(Plymouth), Patricia Keckan
(White Lake), James Kissel
(Ypsilanti), Janet Kondziela
(Dearborn), Rosemary Lee
(Howell), Lisa Mull (Grand
Rapids), Barbara Eko Murphy
(Northville), Linda Onderko
(Commerce), Patrick O'Rourke
(Northville), Julia Pangborn-
Harley (Gross Pointe Park),
Cindy Rashid (Milford), Julia
Rohde (Saginaw), Tom Ryan
(Lemont), Nancy Savage
(Northville), James Velthoven
(White Lake), Harry Villalonga
(Rochester), Carrie 'Care'
Wheeler (Plymouth), Denise
Willing-Booher (Fenton), Susan
Wolocko Hassenrik (Northville)
and JulieWoodard (Northville).
"Painting in watercolor has
been one of the true loves of my
life. I have worked in this medi-
um for over 30 years and it never
fails to fascinate me. There is a
certain serendipity in watercol-
or: you can't always control every
aspect of it, but sometimes the
most wonderful surprises hap-
pen,"Wagner said.
The exhibition is open during
Art House hours, noon until 5
p.m. Tuesday through Friday and
noon until 4 p.m. Saturday. The
Northville Art House is located
at 215 W. Cady St. Admission is
always free.
For more information, call
(248) 344-0497 or visit
Don Howard
Staff Writer
The Michigan Court of Appeals
erred by affirming
the trial court dismissal
of the operating a motor
vehicle while intoxicated (OWI)...
”
Supreme Court overturns drunk driving verdict
