8.12Unlawfully Driving Away an Automobile
“Taking possession of and driving away a motor vehicle—Any person who shall, wilfully and without authority, take possession of and drive or take away, and any person who shall assist in or be a party to such taking possession, driving or taking away of any motor vehicle, belonging to another, shall be guilty of a felony[.]” MCL 750.413.
•M Crim JI 24.1 addresses the elements of unlawfully driving away an automobile.
•M Crim JI 24.4 addresses the distinction between unlawfully driving away an automobile and the misdemeanor offense of joyriding, which is addressed in Section 6.20.
A person guilty of unlawfully driving away an automobile is punishable as follows:
•imprisonment for not more than 5 years. MCL 750.413.
Only applicable sanctions are listed below; accordingly, if a particular sanction is omitted from this section, it is not applicable to this offense. The Offense Code Index for Traffic Violations published by the secretary of state and sourced from Michigan Department of State Court Manual includes a table detailing certain snowmobile offenses and applicable sanctions. The Offense Code Index for Traffic Violations is available at: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/OffenseCode_73877_7.pdf. See Section 1.41 for information on abstracting procedures.
•While MCL 257.320a does not specifically mention MCL 750.413 in its list of offenses requiring an assessment of points, it is likely the offense will be committed in a fashion that constitutes “a felony resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle,” for which six points are assessed. MCL 257.320a(1)(a). See Section 1.42 for more information on points.
•While a driver responsibility fee is not imposed on the basis of this offense alone, it is likely that the offense will be committed in a fashion that constitutes “a felony resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle,” for which a $1,000 driver responsibility fee for two consecutive years. MCL 257.732a(2)(a)(i).1 See Section 1.43 for more information on driver responsibility fees.
•Possible denial of license. See MCL 257.303(1)(c) (requiring license denial if a person’s license is suspended, revoked, denied or canceled in any state); MCL 257.303(1)(g) (requiring license denial if a person has been convicted of, received a juvenile disposition for, or has been determined responsible for two or more moving violations). See Section 1.44 for more information on license denial.
•License suspension for a period of one year. MCL 257.319(2)(b). See Section 1.46 for more information on license suspension.
•License revocation and denial also occur when a defendant has any combination of two or more convictions within seven years for violation of MCL 257.904(4)-(5) and any of the motor vehicle felonies listed at MCL 257.303(2)(b). See Section 1.45 for more information on license revocation and Section 1.44 for more information on license denial.
•Related Crime of Unlawful Use of an Automobile Without Intent to Steal (Joyriding)
The difference between the felony offense of unlawfully driving away an automobile (UDAA), MCL 750.413, and the misdemeanor offense of using a motor vehicle without authority but without intent to steal, MCL 750.414, is that “‘UDAA (joyriding) requires the defendant to take possession of the motor vehicle without the owner’s permission, while the misdemeanor offense of unlawful use of a motor vehicle is committed when an individual, who has been given lawful possession[2] of a motor vehicle, uses it beyond the authority which has been granted to him [or her] by the owner.’” Landon v Titan Ins Co, 251 Mich App 633, 644-645 (2002), quoting People v Hayward, 127 Mich App 50, 61 (1983) (emphasis added in original). See also M Crim JI 24.4 for more information on the distinction between unlawfully driving away an automobile and unlawful use of an automobile without intent to steal (joyriding).
•UDAA Elements
A defendant must take possession of the motor vehicle without the owner’s permission in order to be guilty of UDAA. Landon, 251 Mich App at 644. However, [t]he unlawful taking and driving away of a motor vehicle does not require an intent to steal, that is, to permanently deprive the owner of his [or her] property.” Id. at 640. “While the offense requires the specific intent to take possession of the vehicle unlawfully, it does not require an intent to steal the vehicle; the offense punishes conduct that does not rise to the level of larceny because an intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property is lacking.” Id. A completed larceny is not an element of UDAA. People v Sherman (Shaquille), 497 Mich 1025, 1025 (2015). See also People v Cain, 495 Mich 874, 874 (2013) (holding that “[a] completed larceny is not an element of UDAA because the offense does not require felonious intent, only movement of the vehicle without the owner’s consent[]”) (internal quotations omitted). “UDAA merely requires driving or taking away a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.” Id.
1 Beginning October 1, 2018, the driver responsibility fee law will no longer be in effect, meaning no new driver responsibility fee assessments, and outstanding driver responsibility fees will not be collected. See MCL 257.732a(10) and MCL 257.732a(11). See Section 1.43(C) for more specific information related to the elimination of driver responsibility fees.
2 “‘Lawful possession’ is not an element of the offense of unlawful use of an automobile.” People v Crosby, 82 Mich App 1, 3 (1978). “It is just that ‘unlawful possession’ does not have to be shown to support a conviction for unlawful use of an automobile.” Id.