City of Spokane v. Wilcox

179 P.3d 840, 143 Wash. App. 568
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 20, 2008
DocketNo. 24030-4-III
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 179 P.3d 840 (City of Spokane v. Wilcox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Spokane v. Wilcox, 179 P.3d 840, 143 Wash. App. 568 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

¶1 The question before us is whether the administrative suspension of a driver’s license for a driving [570]*570under the influence (DUI) conviction is punishment, subjecting it to the strictures of Blakely v. Washington1 and, therefore, entitling the driver to a jury determination of refusal. We conclude it is not punishment and reverse the superior court determination to the contrary.

Sweeney, C.J.

[570]*570FACTS

¶2 The city of Spokane (City) charged Daniel C. Wilcox with DUI. Mr. Wilcox refused to submit to a breath test and admitted as much during his trial. The district court did not submit the question of whether Mr. Wilcox refused the breath test to the jury. The jury concluded that Mr. Wilcox was guilty of DUI.

¶3 The district court judge sentenced Mr. Wilcox to 365 days in jail, suspending 359 days. The judge also imposed a $5,000 fine and suspended $3,922 of that. The judge also found that Mr. Wilcox “admitted on the stand that he refused the breath test. . . . [H]e did, in fact, admit to that.” Clerk’s Papers at 2. The judge reflected this finding in the judgment and sentence by checking a box indicating “Refusal.” The court also prepared and filed a “Court Judgment Information” form with the Department of Licensing (DOL) and attached the judgment. The court also checked a box indicating “Refusal” on the form’s “Conviction Section.”

¶4 Mr. Wilcox appealed to the Spokane County Superior Court. He argued, on authority of Blakely, that the jury, not the judge, had to find that he refused the breath test. The superior court agreed and remanded his case for further proceedings. The City appeals the superior court order.

DISCUSSION

¶5 The City contends that Mr. Wilcox has no right to have a jury determine whether he refused to submit to a breath test for several reasons. First, it asserts that “refusal” is not an element of the City’s DUI sentencing ordinance. Spokane Municipal Code (SMC) 16.61.5055. Next, [571]*571the City argues that the court did not violate Mr. Wilcox’s right to a jury trial because the judge’s finding of “refusal” did not increase his conviction’s statutory maximum sentence; instead, the finding increased the length of his license suspension only. The City contends that the Sixth Amendment does not apply to a license suspension that follows a DUI conviction. State v. Dykstra, 127 Wn. App. 1, 110 P.3d 758 (2005); State v. Scheffel, 82 Wn.2d 872, 879, 514 P.2d 1052 (1973). The City also maintains that Mr. Wilcox’s license suspension was proper even if Blakely applies because Mr. Wilcox admitted that he refused the breath test under oath. Blakely, 542 U.S. at 303.

¶6 Mr. Wilcox responds that the sentencing court erred when it found that he refused a breath test because the jury’s verdict authorized a maximum license suspension penalty of only 90 days. He argues that the net effect of the district court’s finding of “refusal” to take the breath test increased the penalty — his license was suspended for one year rather than 90 days.

¶7 The question presented is a question of law and so our review is de novo. State v. Campbell, 125 Wn.2d 797, 800, 888 P.2d 1185 (1995).

¶8 “Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000). “[T]he ‘statutory maximum’... is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant.” Blakely, 542 U.S. at 303 (emphasis omitted).

19 The question then is whether a license suspension is a penalty and therefore subject to the rules set out in Apprendi and Blakely.

¶10 We have already concluded that a defendant is not entitled to jury findings on the facts underlying a license suspension: “The Blakely rule protects the Sixth Amend[572]*572ment right to trial by jury. But it does not apply to a driver’s license suspension.” Dykstra, 127 Wn. App. at 12 (citation omitted). That is because “the Department of Licensing, not the court, acts on the license. The revocation is automatic upon notice to the department of the appropriate . . . conviction. Sentencing has nothing to do with it.” Id. And so “[1]Ícense suspension is not punishment.” Id. at 13.

¶11 Mr. Wilcox contends that the Dykstra holding does not apply to his case. He argues that Dykstra addressed a statute that is different from the ordinance at issue here. But the difference he argues is not material. The material provision of the ordinance in Mr. Wilcox’s case (SMC 16.61.5055) is the same as the material provision in the statute at issue in Dykstra (RCW 46.20.285). SMC 16.61-.5055(H), like RCW 46.20.285, makes license suspension automatic upon notice to the DOL of the applicable conviction. And like RCW 46.20.285, the ordinance gives the DOL, not the court, the power to suspend licenses. SMC 16.61-.5055(H). Dykstra is then on point. And the Blakely rule does not apply to a driver’s license suspension under SMC 16.61.5055(H). Moreover, the current statutory scheme imposes a remedial sanction and not criminal punishment. Apprendi does not then apply.

¶[12 Mr. Wilcox relies on State v. Hopkins for the proposition that the suspension is a penalty. State v. Hopkins, 109 Wn. App. 558, 36 P.3d 1080 (2001). And the superior court here also concluded that a jury must find the facts underlying a license suspension upon a DUI conviction.

¶13 In Hopkins, the defendant was convicted of DUI for an incident occurring on January 25, 1999. Id. at 560-61. The defense was not permitted to present evidence that the breath test could have been between 0.141 and 0.172 based on the judge’s ruling that it would decide whether Ms. Hopkins’s alcohol concentration was at least 0.15. Id. at 561. The court also refused to instruct the jury on the issue. Id. The trial judge found by a preponderance that the breath test was 0.15 or higher (0.157) and sentenced the defendant accordingly as required by former RCW [573]*57346.61.5055(1) (1998). Id. The judge then ordered that Ms. Hopkins’s driver’s license be suspended for one year based upon the finding of a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15. Id. The license would have been suspended only for 90 days but for the 0.15 or higher reading under former RCW 46.61-.5055(1).

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Bluebook (online)
179 P.3d 840, 143 Wash. App. 568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-spokane-v-wilcox-washctapp-2008.