Facts: Petitioner Andrew Magee was cited for negligent driving pursuant to Washington Revised Code §46.63.030 after police responded to reports of a vehicle traveling on the wrong side of the highway and found Magee’s car parked on the shoulder of the highway onramp facing the wrong direction. Magee subsequently contested the citation in the District Court for Pierce County, asserting that he had not driven on the wrong side of the highway but rather had simply turned his vehicle around on the shoulder and that he could not be cited for violating §46.63.030 without the officer actually witnessing the alleged offense. The district court nonetheless found Magee guilty of negligent driving, concluding that he could not have placed his car in the position in which it was found without driving on the wrong side of the highway. The district court’s decision was affirmed by both the Superior Court for Pierce County and the Washington Court of Appeals. Magee appealed to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does §46.63.030 allow an officer to issue a citation without directly observing the alleged infraction?
Conclusion: Justice Chambers’ opinion for the Court reversed the Washington Court of Appeals and dismissed the citation, ruling that under §46.63.030 Magee could only be cited without the officer issuing the citation observing the alleged infraction if the officer was acting upon the request of another officer who had observed the alleged infraction, if the officer was responding to the scene of an accident and had reasonable cause to believe that an infraction had been committed, or if the infraction was detected through a photo enforcement system or automated traffic safety camera.
Docket No. 81746-4 (from Court of Appeals Division II Case No. 34261-8)
Petitioner: Andrew Magee
(Counsel: Andrew Magee)
Respondent: State of Washington
(Counsel: Kathleen Proctor and Michelle Hyer)
Briefs:
Argument: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 9:00am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Prevailing Party: Andrew Magee (Petitioner)
Vote: 9-0
Citation: Pending
Court: Alexander4 Court (2008-2009)
Alexander
Johnson
Madsen
(Concurs)
Sanders
Chambers
(Majority)
Owens
Fairhurst
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.