City of Bellingham v. Schampera

356 P.2d 292, 57 Wash. 2d 106, 92 A.L.R. 2d 192, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 452
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 20, 1960
Docket35046
StatusPublished
Cited by85 cases

This text of 356 P.2d 292 (City of Bellingham v. Schampera) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Bellingham v. Schampera, 356 P.2d 292, 57 Wash. 2d 106, 92 A.L.R. 2d 192, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 452 (Wash. 1960).

Opinions

Hill, J.

October 1, 1958, John David Schampera was charged in the municipal court of Bellingham with a violation of § 143 of ordinance No. 5777, as amended by ordinance No. 6952, prohibiting the driving of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. He was convicted, and appealed to the superior court where he had a trial de novo. He was again convicted and sentenced to ninety days in the county jail (fifty days of which were suspended), fined one hundred dollars, and his motor vehicle operator’s license suspended for a period of six months.

He appeals to this court and challenges the validity of the Bellingham ordinance under which he was charged and tried. Basically, his contentions are three:

1. The state of Washington by RCW 46.56.010 (a part of the Washington Motor Vehicle Act), making it

[108]*108“. . . unlawful for any person who is under the influence of or affected by the use of intoxicating liquor . . . to drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle upon the public highways.”

has precluded Bellingham, or any other city in Washington, from passing ordinances directed against the same offense.

2. If Bellingham can enact such legislation, it cannot, as a penalty for its violation, suspend the license of a motor vehicle operator inasmuch as the state has pre-empted the field of the issuance, regulation, and suspension of motor vehicle operators’ licenses; and it is, further, not within the maximum penalty provisions allowed to be imposed by first class cities under RCW 35.22.470.

3. If Bellingham can enact such legislation, the particular ordinance now before the court is invalid because the maximum fine and prison term, which it prescribes for the violation of the ordinance, exceed the maximum fine and prison term allowed to be imposed by first class cities under RCW 35.22.470.

We disagree with the contention that Washington cities can not, by ordinance, prohibit driving within their limits by persons under the influence of, or affected by the use of, intoxicating liquor.

We agree that no Washington city can prescribe, as a penalty for a violation of its ordinances, the suspension of a motor vehicle operator’s license.

We agree that the city of Bellingham can not impose penalties in excess of those provided by RCW 35.22.470, but we do not agree that this necessarily invalidates the ordinance; and hold that since the penalties of fine and imprisonment which were imposed, were within the limits which the city could impose, they will be affirmed.

We will consider these contentions and amplify our answers thereto under three subheads.

Re: Contention that there has been a pre-emption by THE STATE OF THE PROHIBITION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE OFFENSE OF DRIVING ON HIGHWAYS WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR.

We have recognized, in numerous cases involving [109]*109various types of offenses, the right of a city to enact ordinances prohibiting and punishing the same acts which constitute an offense under state laws so long as the city ordinance does not conflict with the general laws of the state, or the state enactment does not show upon its face that it was intended to be exclusive. Seattle v. Hewetson (1917), 95 Wash. 612, 164 Pac. 234 (prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquor); Allen v. Bellingham (1917), 95 Wash. 12, 163 Pac. 18 (regulating jitney busses); Seattle v. MacDonald (1907), 47 Wash. 298, 91 Pac. 952, 17 L. R. A. (N. S.) 49 (prohibiting gambling); Bellingham v. Cissna (1906), 44 Wash. 397, 87 Pac. 481 (regulating speed of automobiles); Seattle v. Chin Let (1898), 19 Wash. 38, 52 Pac. 324 (prohibiting lotteries).

These cases point out our constitutional provision declaring that any

"... county, city, town or township may make and enforce within its limits all such local police, sanitary and other regulations as are not in conflict with general laws.” Washington Constitution, Art. XI, § 11.

Of this constitutional provision (§ 11), we have said:

“This is a direct delegation of the police power as ample within its limits as that possessed by the legislature itself. It requires no legislative sanction for its exercise so long as the subject-matter is local, and the regulation reasonable and consistent with the general laws.” Detamore v. Hindley (1915), 83 Wash. 322, 326, 145 Pac. 462. See, also, State v. Tucker (1926), 137 Wash. 162, 242 Pac. 363.

Bellingham, together with other first class cities, has the power by ordinance

“ . . .to provide for the punishment of all disorderly conduct, and of all practices dangerous to public health or safety, and to make all regulations necessary for the preservation of public morality, health, peace, and good order within its limits; to provide for the arrest, trial, and punishment of all persons charged with violating any of the ordinances of said city; to provide for the imposition by police judges of a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars or imprisonment not to exceed ninety days, or both such fine and imprisonment. [1923 c 182 § 1; RRS §8992-1.]” RCW 35.22.470.

[110]*110Another section of our motor vehicle statute should also be in our thinking as we discuss this phase of the case. RCW 46.08.020 is as follows:

“Precedence over local vehicle and traffic regulations. The provisions of this title relating to vehicles shall be applicable and uniform throughout this state and in all cities and towns and all political subdivisions therein and no local authority shall enact or enforce any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation in conflict with the provisions hereof unless expressely authorized by law to do so and any laws, ordinances, rules, or regulations in conflict with the provisions of this title are hereby declared to be invalid and of no effect. Local authorities may, however, adopt additional vehicle and traffic regulations which are not in conflict with the provisions hereof. [1937 c 189 § 2; RRS § 6360-2.]”

Particular attention is directed to the authorization to local authorities to adopt additional traffic and vehicular regulations which are not in conflict with the other provisions of the act.

No case in this state has considered whether an ordinance, prohibiting driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor is in “conflict” with our state law on the same subject, i.e., RCW 46.56.010, either under its present form (Laws of 1955, chapter 393, § 3, p. 1700), or as enacted by Laws of 1937, chapter 189, § 119, p. 910.

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Bluebook (online)
356 P.2d 292, 57 Wash. 2d 106, 92 A.L.R. 2d 192, 1960 Wash. LEXIS 452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-bellingham-v-schampera-wash-1960.