Is a riding lawn mower a motor vehicle?
Most people wouldn't give the question much thought, and it's a rare day indeed when a motorist passes a riding mower on a roadway. But it's a question of enormous consequence to Franklin Lloyd Harris.
In May 2006, Harris was arrested for stealing a Toro riding lawn mower from a Home Depot in Dalton. He was convicted at trial of motor vehicle theft and sentenced to 10 years in prison as a repeat offender.
On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court hears arguments on Harris' appeal, which contends a riding lawn mower doesn't meet the definition of a motor vehicle under Georgia law because it's used to cut grass, not transport people on a thoroughfare.
Prosecutors counter that the mower fits the definition because it is "self-propelled."
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