6.20Unlawful Use of an Automobile Without Intent to Steal (Joyriding)
“Any person who takes or uses without authority any motor vehicle without intent to steal the same, or who is a party to such unauthorized taking or using, is guilty of a misdemeanor[.]” MCL 750.414.
“[MCL 750.414] does not apply to any person or persons employed by the owner of said motor vehicle or anyone else, who, by the nature of his or her employment, has the charge of or the authority to drive said motor vehicle if said motor vehicle is driven or used without the owner’s knowledge or consent.” MCL 750.414.
•M Crim JI 24.2 addresses the elements of use of an automobile without authority and without intent to steal.
•M Crim JI 24.4 addresses the distinction between joyriding and the felony offense of unlawfully driving away an automobile, which is addressed in Section 8.12.
MCL 750.414 provides for:
•imprisonment for not more than 2 years; or
•fine of not more than $1,500.
However, if it is a first offense, “the court may reduce to punishment to imprisonment for not more than 3 months or a fine of not more than $500.00.” MCL 750.414.
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 the Michigan Department of State Court Manual includes a table detailing traffic offenses and applicable sanctions. See Section 1.41 for more information on abstracting procedures.
•Two points. See MCL 257.320a(1)(u); MCL 257.732(1)(a). See Section 1.42 for more information on points.
•Mandatory 90 day license suspension for no prior conviction; mandatory one year license suspension for one or more prior convictions. See MCL 257.319(6). See Section 1.45 for more information on license suspension.
•General Intent Crime
“‘To be convicted of [MCL 750.414], a defendant must have intended to take or use the vehicle, knowing that he [or she] had no authority to do so.’” Landon v Titan Ins Co, 251 Mich App 633, 644 (2002), quoting People v Laur, 128 Mich App 453, 455 (1983). “Because no intent is required beyond that of doing the act itself, this is a general intent crime.” Landon, 251 Mich App at 644.
•Distinguished From Crime of Unlawfully Driving Away an Automobile
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[1] of a motor vehicle, uses it beyond the authority which has been granted to him by the owner.’” Landon, 251 Mich App at 644-645, quoting People v Hayward, 127 Mich App 50, 61 (1983) (emphasis 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).
•Rental Agreement
The evidence was “sufficient to demonstrate that plaintiff [an unlicensed driver] was in possession of the car . . . through voluntary action, and thus he ‘took’ it,” in violation of MCL 750.414 where plaintiff’s wife had rented the car from a dealership and “the rental agreement prohibited an unlicensed person from driving it,” thus demonstrating “plaintiff’s use and operation of the car was without authority of . . . the owner[.]” Ahmed v Tokio Marine America Ins Co, 337 Mich App 1, 13-14 (2021).
1 “‘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.