State v. McKinney

• Decision Date: 05 December 2002
• Docket Number: No. 71487-8, No. 71604-8, No. 71488-6.
• Citation: 60 P.3d 46,148 Wash.2d 20
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Lonnie McKINNEY, Petitioner. State of Washington, Respondent, v. Ralph M. Martin, Petitioner. City of Everett, Respondent, v. Randal D. Schroeder, Petitioner.

60 P.3d 46

148 Wash.2d 20

STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Lonnie McKINNEY, Petitioner.

State of Washington, Respondent, v. Ralph M. Martin, Petitioner.

City of Everett, Respondent, v. Randal D. Schroeder, Petitioner.

Nos. 71487-8, 71604-8, 71488-6.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 14, 2002.

Decided December 5, 2002.

Sharon J. Blackford, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, for Petitioner.

Norm Maleng, King County Prosecutor, Daniel J. Clark, Endel R. Kolde, Deputy County Prosecutors, Seattle, for Respondent.

Pamela B. Loginsky, Olympia, Amicus Curiae on Behalf of Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Traci A. Sammeth, Perkins Coie, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of American Civil Liberties Union.

Lisa Daugaard, Neil M. Fox, Seattle-King County Public Defender Assn, Seattle, E.J. Rosenkranz, Kirsten D. Levingston, Riene Thukral, Brennan Center for Justice NY University School of Law, New York, NY, Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Racial Disparity Project.

Ahndrea L. Blue, Seattle, Amicus Curiae on behalf of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Seattle Branch.

Christopher Gibson, Nielsen Broman & Koch Pile, Seattle, Scott R. Santoro, City of Everett Legal Dept., Mark T. Soine, Everett City Attorney, Jon T. Scott, Everett, counsel for other parties.

MADSEN, J.

Lonnie McKinney, Ralph Martin, and Randal Schroeder were each arrested following a series of events that began when police officers accessed information contained in their Department of Licensing (DOL) driver's license records. Each moved for dismissal or suppression on the ground that the officers' searches of DOL databases prior to arrest violated the privacy provisions of the state constitution. Their motions were denied. The defendants were convicted and they appealed. Their cases were consolidated for review and the Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Martin, 106 Wash.App. 850, 25 P.3d 488 (2001). We agree with the Court of Appeals that computerized police checks of license plate numbers and DOL licensing records do not violate privacy rights guaranteed by article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution and affirm.

FACTS

Lonnie McKinney

On January 19, 2000, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Officer Hoag was on routine patrol when he saw a red Ford Explorer in the parking lot of a market. The officer ran the license plate and the associated driver's license for the registered owner of the car. The check indicated that the owner had a suspended driver's license. The officer noticed that the driver of the Ford Explorer matched the physical description of the registered owner of the vehicle. The officer stopped the vehicle and detained the defendant for driving while his license was suspended. When the officer searched the defendant's vehicle incident to arrest he saw a woman, later identified as Miriam McKinney, lying down in the back seat. A computer check revealed that there were two active "no contact" orders relating to Ms. McKinney. The officer confirmed that both orders were valid and had been served. He then cited the defendant for driving while license suspended in the third degree and violation of a no contact order.

Ralph Martin

Based on a neighbor's prior complaint of narcotics activity and an ongoing narcotics investigation, officers of the Seattle Police North Precinct Anti-Crime Team suspected that a certain van might be involved in narcotics related activity. On June 9, 1999, Officer Zylak checked the DOL database for the van's plate and discovered that it was registered to Ralph Martin. He then ran Martin's name through the WACIC (Washington State Criminal Information Computer) database and discovered two outstanding arrest warrants, including one no bail warrant. Officers contacted Martin in the driveway next to the van. Martin initially stated that he was Robert Smith but when an officer indicated that he thought "Smith" was Ralph Martin, Martin admitted his identity and was arrested. In a search incident to arrest, the officers discovered cocaine in Martin's pocket. Martin was charged with drug possession.

Randal Schroeder

On the evening of August 14, 1999, police officer Bruce Fifield was patrolling the parking lot of a motel—randomly checking vehicle license plates for stolen vehicles. In the officer's experience the motel is a place where stolen cars are abandoned. As the officer conducted his check of vehicles in the parking lot, he discovered through the DOL database search that the registered owners of a Chevy Nova and Chevy truck were Donna Schroeder and Randal Schroeder, respectively. These vehicles were parked next to each other. The officer ran these names through WACIC, which revealed that there was an active protection order prohibiting Mr. Schroeder from having contact with Donna Schroeder. After further investigation, the officer discovered that Randal and Donna Schroeder were in a motel room together, and Randal Schroeder was arrested.

The defendants each moved for dismissal or suppression based on violation of article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. The motions were denied. The defendants were convicted in stipulated facts trials and the Court of Appeals affirmed in a consolidated appeal.

Analysis

The defendants contend that the computerized checks of their vehicle registration and licensing information through DOL records without probable cause or a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity violate their right to privacy under article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. Therefore, they argue, the information police officers gained through a search of the records may not be used in any subsequent prosecutions.

Article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution provides that "[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law." In State v. Gunwall this court identified six nonexclusive criteria for determining whether, in a given situation, a provision of the state constitution should be given an interpretation independent from that given to the corresponding federal constitutional provision and whether the provision in question extends greater protections for the citizens of this state. State v. Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d 54, 64, 720 P.2d 808 (1986).

It is now well settled that the protections guaranteed by article I, section 7 of the state constitution are qualitatively different from those provided by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. City of Seattle v. McCready, 123 Wash.2d 260, 267, 868 P.2d 134 (1994). Once this court has determined that a particular provision of the state constitution has an independent meaning using the factors outlined in Gunwall, it need not reconsider whether to apply a state constitutional analysis in a new context. State v. Ladson, 138 Wash.2d 343, 348, 979 P.2d 833 (1999). Similarly, it is well established that article I, section 7 may provide greater protections than those afforded by the Fourth Amendment. State v. Simpson, 95 Wash.2d 170, 178, 622 P.2d 1199 (1980). This court has recognized privacy interests in telephone records, Gumwall,106 Wash.2d 54,720 P.2d 808, and curbside garbage, State v. Boland, 115 Wash.2d 571, 800 P.2d 1112 (1990).

However, "`[a] determination that a given state constitutional provision affords enhanced protection in a particular context does not necessarily mandate such a result in a different context.'" State v. Johnson, 128 Wash.2d 431, 446, 909 P.2d 293 (1996) (quoting State v. Russell, 125 Wash.2d 24, 58, 882 P.2d 747 (1994)). Because there is no longer any question that article I, section 7 provides qualitatively different protections for Washington citizens, and in some cases greater protection than the federal constitution, the focus of a challenge under this section is on whether the language of the state constitutional provision and its prior interpretations actually compel a particular result. McCready, 123 Wash.2d at 267, 868 P.2d 134.

In determining whether a search violates article I, section 7, the court must first decide whether the action in question intruded upon a person's "private affairs." See In re Pers. Restraint of Maxfield, 133 Wash.2d 332, 339, 945 P.2d 196 (1997)

; Boland, 115 Wash.2d 571,

800 P.2d 1112; Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d 54,

720 P.2d 808; State v. Myrick, 102 Wash.2d 506, 510, 688 P.2d 151 (1984). Generally, private affairs are "those privacy interests which citizens of [Washington] have held, and should be entitled to hold, safe from governmental trespass." Myrick, 102 Wash.2d at 511,

688 P.2d 151. This determination is not "merely an inquiry into a person's subjective expectation of privacy but is rather an examination of whether the expectation is one which a citizen of this state should be entitled to hold." McCready, 123 Wash.2d at 270,

868 P.2d 134.

It is appropriate to begin our analysis by looking to what kind of protection has historically been accorded these DOL records. See Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d at 66, 720 P.2d 808 (reviewing state law protections extended to electronic communications); Johnson, 128 Wash.2d at 445, 909 P.2d 293 (considering preexisting state law regulating travel on public thoroughfares); Boland, 115 Wash.2d 571, 800 P.2d 1112 (considering preexisting state law relating to curbside garbage collection).

Historically, Washington citizens have not enjoyed a constitutionally protected privacy interest in their drivers' records. As amicus Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys points out, when motor vehicle license plates were first introduced in Washington in 1915, the law required that ownership information be filed with the secretary of state and this information be available to the public. See Laws of 1915, ch. 142, § 5; Laws of 1890, ch. XX, § 2, at 630. In 1937, the legislature adopted legislation creating the DOL and requiring that agency to...