Filed Wednesday, March 04, 2026 by Vancouver Defenders
Attorney Stevie Riley won a bench trial on February 19, 2026, in Clark County District Court.
Her client was charged in November 2025 with physical control. The charge applies to people who have physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
Her client was arrested after Vancouver police officers were called to a house for a “physical disturbance.” Officers spoke to multiple people; no arrests were made for anything that happened at the house party.
Her client had been inside the house and appeared to be intoxicated.
The arresting officer said the client was swaying, had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and had urinated in his pants.
While police officers were still on scene, the client got into his vehicle, which was in the driveway, and started the engine. He had not moved his car before he was told by an officer to step out of the vehicle.
He was taken into custody and taken to VPD’s west precinct, where he agreed to give a breath sample. His blood-alcohol level was .2, more than twice the legal limit.
Riley, who was assisted at trial by Matthew Swisher, argued her client was safely off a roadway when he got in his vehicle. The affirmative defense was designed by the state legislature to reward people who realize they are too drunk or high to be driving and pull over and park.
While that wasn’t what happened in this case, Riley relied on case law to convince the judge that a person doesn’t have to drive drunk first to use the defense.
Her client testified he had driven to the house earlier in the evening and only started to drink once he was inside the house. He said he never intended to move his vehicle from the driveway, and he was only reparking because he was going to leave his vehicle at the home overnight and have a friend come pick him up.
A police officer testified he was worried about the safety of other people and vehicles in the driveway, and an assistant city attorney argued it wasn’t safe for the client to repark his vehicle when other people were around.
Judge James Smith ruled that while the client didn’t make the safest of choices by attempting to repark his car it was safer than him trying to drive home and while the facts of this case were unique, as the client was stopped right as he was about to move the car, ultimately the client was trying to do the right thing.
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