Facts: Petitioner James Rivard successfully petitioned the Superior Court for Spokane County for the restoration of his right to possess a firearm, which had been revoked nine years earlier as a result of his being convicted of vehicular homicide, pursuant to Washington Revised Code §9.41.040, which permits individuals otherwise prohibited from doing so to petition to have their rights restored so long as they have not been convicted of a class A felony or a sex offense. The respondent state of Washington appealed the trial court’s decision, maintaining that as vehicular homicide had been reclassified by Washington Revised Code §46.61.520(2) from a class B to a class A felony subsequent to Rivard’s conviction, he was ineligible to petition to have his right to possess a firearm restored. The Washington Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, holding that the reclassification of vehicular homicide retroactively applied to Rivard with regard to his right to petition under §9.41.040. Rivard appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does §9.41.040 retroactively apply the reclassification of vehicular homicide for purposes of eligibility to petition for a restoration of the right to possess a firearm?
Conclusion: Justice Charles W. Johnson’s opinion for a unanimous Court concluded that Rivard was eligible to petition to have his right to possess a firearm restored as there was no indication that the reclassification was intended to apply retroactively. Thus, as Rivard had been convicted of a class B rather than a class A felony, he was eligible to file a petition under §9.41.040 as he had not been convicted of any other crimes in the five years subsequent to his vehicular homicide conviction.
Docket No. 82431-2 (from Court of Appeals Division III Case No. 25923-4)
Petitioner: James Rivard
(Counsel: Julia Anne Dooris)
Respondent: State of Washington
(Counsel: Andrew J. Metts III)
Briefs:
Argument: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 9:00am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, May 6th, 2010
Prevailing Party: James Rivard (Petitioner)
Vote: 9-0
Citation: Pending
Court: Madsen1 Court (2010-)
Madsen
Johnson
(Majority)
Alexander
Sanders
Chambers
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.