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In County of Sacramento v. Lewis oral arguments, as found on Oyez, Justice Scalia said, questioning the counsel for respondent Philip Lewis
And he owned the motor cycle, didn't he?
And he owned the motor cycle.
But Philip Lewis at the time was 16 years old. How could he have owned a motorbike? Could he even ride it?
In California, you can get a driver's license at age 16, as well as a motorcycle license. This is similar to the minimum age in most other states.
According to this article, California law generally permits minors to own property. There is a restriction for motor vehicles: Vehicle Code section 15500 says that a minor can only own a motor vehicle if they have a valid driver's license. But Lewis certainly could have satisfied this.
So it would have been entirely possible and legal for Lewis to own, and ride, a motorcycle at age 16, provided that he had satisfied all the requirements (driver training, etc) and been issued a license.
You don’t need a licence (or be eligible to hold one) to own a motor vehicle. You need one to purchase or lease one, but it’s not illegal to own one through, say, being given one.
