The Minnesota DWI Case Of The Week is State v. Kelly (Decided April 1, 2019, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Unpublished) which stands for the proposition that a driver, in making a turn, does not have to turn into the lane closest to the centerline.
In Kelly, an Eden Prairie police officer observed the Defendant's truck stopped at a red light at the intersection of Singletree Lane and Prairie Center Drive. Singletree Lane runs from east to west and has two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes, divided by a grass median. Similarly, Prairie Center Drive runs from north to south and has two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes, also divided by a grass median. Kelley’s truck was stopped in the left-most lane of the westbound portion of Singletree Lane. That lane is the only lane from which a left-hand turn onto Prairie Center Drive can be legally made, and there are no markers extending the lanes through the intersection onto Prairie Center Drive.
Kelley’s turn signal was activated, indicating his intent to make a left-hand turn onto southbound Prairie Center Drive. Officer Streiff testified that when the light turned green, he watched Kelley’s truck make “a wide turn and actually turn into the far right lane, not the near lane when making the left hand turn.” Upon exiting the intersection, Kelley completed his turn. Officer Streiff testified that he believed the wide left turn was a traffic violation, so he initiated a traffic stop.
Mr. Kelly was drunk and was subsequently arrested for 2nd Degree DWI. He moved to suppress the evidence and dismiss the charges arguing arguing that the officer did not have a reasonable, articulable basis for the stop because his left turn was legal.
The District Court denied the Defendant's Motion but on appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed, stating:
"Kelley does not dispute that he did not turn into the inner portion of the lane when completing the left turn. Instead, he argues that the district court and the officer erred in relying on Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(b) to conclude that he violated a traffic law. He asserts that the district court and the officer misinterpreted the statute because “Minnesota law does not dictate which lane of the roadway being entered that a left turn must be completed in."
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"The relevant portion of the left-turn statute provides that the driver of a vehicle intending to turn at an intersection shall do so as follows:
(b) Approach for a left turn on other than one-way roadways shall be made in that portion of the right half of the roadway nearest the centerline thereof, and after entering the intersection the left turn shall be made so as to leave the intersection to the right of the centerline of the roadway being entered. Whenever practicable the left turn shall be made in that portion of the intersection to the left of the center of the intersection. Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(b).
"The first sentence of subdivision 1(b) provides guidance as to how one should approach the intersection to make a left turn and requires that approach for a left turn, on other than one-way roadways, be made in the portion of the roadway nearest the centerline. Id. Here, there is no dispute that Kelley complied with this requirement."
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"The plain language of the statute required Kelley, after entering the intersection, to leave the intersection to the right of the centerline of Prairie Center Drive. The statute does not require that a left turn be completed in the inner-most, closest, or nearest lane “to the right of the centerline of the roadway being entered.” Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(b). Both of the southbound lanes on Prairie Center Drive are to the right of the centerline, and Kelley’s turn into the outer lane, which was on the right side of the median, complied with this portion of the statute."
"The state argues that the second sentence of the subdivision required Kelley to turn into the inner-most lane of the roadway being entered because there was nothing obstructing Kelley’s ability to complete the turn in the inner-most lane. The state relies on the language in the second sentence of subdivision 1(b), which provides that “[w]henever practicable the left turn shall be made in that portion of the intersection to the left of the center of the intersection.” Minn. Stat. § 169.19, subd. 1(b)."
"Given these plain-language meanings and the statutory definition of intersection, the “whenever practicable” provision in the statute only refers to a driver’s conduct when going through the intersection, not when completing the turn. Consequently, Kelley was not required to turn into the inner-most lane because it was “practicable” for him to do so. Because the statute does not require which lane of the roadway being entered a left turn must be completed in, the district court erred by concluding that Kelley was required to turn into the inner-most lane of Prairie Center Drive."
Moral Of The Story: People may often make a wrong turn in life but the lane chosen does not really matter.
If you or a loved one have been arrested for a Minnesota DWI, or are facing a DWI forfeiture of your motor vehicle, feel free to contact Minnesota DWI Attorney, F. T. Sessoms at (612) 344-1505 for answers to all of your Minnesota DWI questions.
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