After an appellate court decision changed the law concerning DUI with electric vehicles, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office will move to dismiss charges against an already-convicted Redding attorney. In November of 2023 Lisa Marie Jensen was driving an electric scooter on a sidewalk when she struck a pedestrian from behind. Redding Police found her to be under the influence of alcohol. She was below the legal limit, but any alcohol in her system was a crime due to priors. In February a jury found Jensen guilty of DUI causing injury and reckless driving causing injury, with special allegations of great bodily injury and for having a prior DUI conviction within ten years. The scooter fell under the definition of a powered vehicle, however that changed in May when the 6th appellate district court was reviewing a different case and determined that an electric bicycle is not a motor vehicle. DA Stephanie Bridgett says her office’s prosecution and the jury’s decision were correct when the conviction was reached, but the change justifies a dismissal.
-Steve Gibson