Mortician to be tried again

Supreme Court overturns conviction

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A former Marion undertaker will get a new trial on drunken driving charges filed in November 2018 after the state supreme court reversed his November 2019 conviction.

The court remanded Ty Zeiner’s case back to district court for a new trial.

At issue is the definition of “driving under the influence” used in jury instructions.

Zeiner was asleep in his car, parked on the side of the road with the engine turned off, when officers found him intoxicated at 3:30 a.m.

In his trial, he wanted to have “operate a vehicle” defined as “drive a vehicle” in instructions to the jury. Judge Margaret White denied the request.

In his appeal, Zeiner claimed this was an error.

The supreme court agreed and found the mistake “not harmless.”

Zeiner was sentenced Jan. 10, 2020, to 48 hours in jail followed by five days’ house arrest, then a year’s community corrections. He also was ordered to pay $1,668.

Because of his appeals, he has not served any of his sentence.