Michigan DUI Best Defenses - Lack of Operation because No Motor Vehicle as defined by traffic code

A great defense to a DUI charge in Michigan is simply lack of motor vehicle.  This is a rare defense, because a police officer is unlikely to pull over or stop a non-motor vehicle as defined under Michigan law, it’s in the law books and jury instructions for a reason, and it is worth exploring.  As technology continues to advance the definition of “motor vehicle” will continue to either shrink or expand.  It will be interesting when self-driving cars become a reality, and how this portion of the law will be treated.  
In Michigan, the elements, which the prosecutor needs to prove in a DUI case are the following.  

1. operating a motor vehicle,
2. on a highway or other place open to the general public, or generally accessible to motor vehicles,
3. in the county of [county], city of [city] (venue),
4. while under the influence of alcohol and/or with an unlawful bodily alcohol level of .08 grams or more.

We get our definition of “motor vehicle” from MCL 257.79, which states  that a vehicle is “every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices exclusively moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks and except, only for the purpose of titling and registration under this act, a mobile home.”

The obvious “motor vehicle” is what you normally consider a vehicle/car, such as your Jeep, Ford, Chevy and hundreds of other companies and models.  It has also been held by Michigan Courts that a “motor vehicle” can also be a go-cart, a snowmobile, a motorized boat, a dune buggy or similar motorized device.  Many people ask me if they can ride their bikes after drinking alcohol, and I tell them under current law, no this is not considered drunk driving.  If you’re exclusively powering the bike to move then you are not breaking any law.