Matt LeMieux

08 November 2009

Is A Lawn Mower a Motor Vehicle?

This question, as hard as it may be to believe, is currently before the Georgia Supreme Court. Why? Because people who steal "motor vehicles" in Georgia can be sentenced to long prison terms. So can someone who steals a riding lawn mower be eligible for one of these long prison sentences? The answer to this question hinges on whether a lawn mower is a motor vehicle. If so, then the defendant in this case can be sentenced just like he would have had he stolen an automobile. In the end, this is a classic case of statutory interpretation where the court's primary objective is to determine the intent of the legislature when it enacted the law. Law.com has more on this particular case. Once the Georgia court rules, I too will have more.