Facts: Petitioner Santiago Rivera-Santos allegedly drove a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol from southern Washington into northern Oregon, where he was convicted of driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). Rivera-Santos was then cited for driving under the influence (DUI) by Washington State Patrol. Rivera-Santos filed a motion to dismiss the citation in Clark County District Court, arguing prosecution by the State of Washington was barred by constitutional and statutory double jeopardy, RCW §10.43.040, since he had been convicted in Oregon for the same incident. The district court granted his motion based solely on Washington’s double jeopardy statute. The State appealed, and the Superior Court for Clark County reversed and remanded the district court’s dismissal order. The Supreme Court of Washington granted Rivera-Santos’ petition for direct discretionary review.
Question(s): Does RCW §10.43.040 bar prosecution of a defendant for DUI where the defendant has been previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in another state upon charges arising out of the same course of conduct?
Conclusion: Justice Fairhurst’s opinion for the Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court, holding that Rivera-Santos’ conviction for DUII in Oregon does not preclude his prosecution for DUI in Washington, even though both alleged offenses were committed during the same trip behind the wheel. RCW §10.43.040 does not bar Washington’s prosecution of Rivera-Santos for DUI because no part of the alleged Washington DUI was committed in “another state or county,” and his Oregon DUII was not committed “under such circumstances that the courts of this state had jurisdiction thereof,” according to the statutory language.
Docket No. 81445-7 (from Clark Case No. 07-1-01555-8)
Petitioner: Santiago Rivera-Santos
(Counsel: Anthony J. Lowe)
Respondent: State of Washington
(Counsel: Arthur D. Curtis and John Peterson)
Briefs:
Argument: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 2:30pm
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Vote: 9-0
Opinion: 166 Wn.2d 722 (2009)
Court: Alexander4 Court (2008-2009)
Alexander
Johnson
Madsen
Sanders
Chambers
Owens
Fairhurst
(Majority)
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.