Facts: Following respondent Thomas Eaton’s arrest for driving under the influence and transportation to the Clark County Jail, a search revealed that he was carrying methamphetamine. As a result, Eaton was charged and convicted in the Superior Court for Clark County with both driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance. At sentencing, the trial court enhanced Eaton’s sentence for possessing a controlled substance pursuant to Washington Revised Code §9.94A.533(5), which requires courts to impose an enhancement under certain circumstances including the possession of a controlled substance in a jail or prison. Eaton subsequently appealed his sentence, asserting that the enhancement could not be applied insofar as his presence in the jail, and therefore his possession of methamphetamine in the jail, had been involuntary. The Washington Court of Appeals removed the enhancement from Eaton’s sentence, concluding that §9.94A.533(5) was not intended to punish involuntary acts. The state of Washington appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does §9.94A.533(5) impose strict liability or is a mens rea required?
Conclusion: Justice Chambers’ opinion for the Court affirmed the Washington Court of Appeals’ decision, concluding that although the language of §9.94A.533(5) does not contain a volitional element, one could be inferred as to construe the statute otherwise would produce absurd results insofar as Eaton could not have chosen to avoid the enhancement zone. However, the Court ruled that this does not require knowledge or intent but rather simply some voluntary action.
Docket No. 81348-5 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 34911-6)
Petitioner: State of Washington
(Counsel: Scott Shigeo Ikata and Michael C. Kinnie)
Respondent: Thomas Eaton
(Counsel: Anne Mowry Cruser)
Briefs:
Argument: Thursday, June 11, 2009 1:30pm
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Prevailing Party: Thomas Eaton (Respondent)
Vote: 5-4
Citation: Pending
Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-)
Alexander
Johnson
Madsen
Sanders
Chambers
(Majority)
Owens
Fairhurst
(Dissent)
Johnson
Stephens
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.