City of Seattle v. Reel, 38033
| Decision Date | 08 September 1966 |
| Docket Number | No. 38033,38033 |
| Court | Washington Supreme Court |
| Parties | The CITY OF SEATTLE, Respondent, v. William E. REEL, Appellant. |
Robert S. Egger, Seattle, for appellant.
A. L. Newbould, Corp. Counsel, John R. Nowell, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Seattle, for respondent.
William E. Reel, appellant-defendant, was convicted in the Municipal Traffic Court of the city of Seattle on a charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. He appealed to the Superior Court. After a trial de novo in which appellant waived a jury and was tried by The Honorable Frank D. James of the Superior Court for King County, he was again convicted. Here on appeal he claims no error as to the insufficiency of the evidence to convict or as any other prejudicial errors occurring during the trial. However, he attempts to place his case within the ambit of the reasoning and the decision in Town of Orting v. Joseph Rucshner, 66 Wash.2d 732, 404 P.2d 983 (1965). He contends that the trial court was without jurisdiction to try the case because of alleged defects in the Citation portion of the uniform citation and complaint issued in this case by the Seattle police officer. The alleged defects constitute appellant's assignments of error, as follows:
1. The copy of the citation which was given to the appellant failed to state which day of the month the alleged violation occurred.
2. The citation issued appellant does not bear any date of issuance.
3. The citation issued appellant did not advise him of the amount of bail required for the charged offense.
4. The citation issued appellant did not state the time, date, or place at which appellant was to appear in court or the traffic violations bureau.
In the Orting case there was no complaint of any kind whatsoever before the court. We held the trial court was, therefore, without jurisdiction, and remanded the case for dismissal. There is no question that there was a complaint in the instant case. The decision in Orting, supra, is therefore not apt.
At the outset of the trial in the Superior Court, appellant moved for a dismissal on grounds comparable to the errors assigned here on appeal. The motion was denied. Following the trial, the court entered findings of fact, reading in part as follows:
Finding of Fact IV:
The defendant was arrested, taken to the Seattle Municipal Jail, informed as to the amount of bail, and did post bail, and was given the citation upon his release from jail. Therefore, defendant was aware of the actual date of issuance, and that the omission of the date of issuance on the citation neither misled nor prejudiced the defendant, and did not tend to prejudice any...
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State v. Leach
...... by reason of defects or imperfections which do not tend to prejudice substantial rights of the defendant. See also Seattle v. Reel, 69 Wash.2d 227, 418 P.2d 237 (1966) (challenge to sufficiency of complaint on grounds that misdemeanor citation failed to state the day of month violation ......
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State v. Leach
...court held that the defendant had waived any objection to the irregularity by failing to raise the issue at trial. In Seattle v. Reel, 69 Wash.2d 227, 418 P.2d 237 (1966), the defendant claimed that a citation failed to set forth the date and time of the alleged violation, the date of issua......
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City of Mercer Island v. Crouch, 2546--I
...or citation of the accused. Orting v. Rucshner, Supra. In the traffic case context, this principle is illustrated by Seattle v. Reel, 69 Wash.2d 227, 418 P.2d 237 (1966). In Reel the court held that alleged errors in the citation portion of a uniform citation and complaint did not deprive t......
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State v. Schwartzenberger, 38597
...No error is assigned to the trial court's findings of fact, hence they become established facts of the case. City of Seattle v. Reel, 69 Wash.Dec.2d 232, 418 P.2d 237 (1966); Obde v. Schlemeyer, 56 Wash.2d 449, 353 P.2d 672 The court found that both parties stipulated that the arrest was wi......