Lewis v. Department of Licensing

157 Wash. 2d 446
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 3, 2006
DocketNos. 76824-2; 77110-3
StatusPublished

This text of 157 Wash. 2d 446 (Lewis v. Department of Licensing) 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
Lewis v. Department of Licensing, 157 Wash. 2d 446 (Wash. 2006).

Opinion

f 1

Fairhurst, J.

In these four consolidated cases, the petitioners (drivers), who were all charged with driving under the influence (DUI), challenge two Court of Appeals decisions holding that recordings made during their traffic stops were admissible. The drivers argue that the police officers who stopped them did not properly inform the drivers that the officers were recording their conversations. We review whether Washington’s privacy act, chapter 9.73 RCW, protects conversations that occur between police officers and detainees during traffic stops and, if so, what remedy should be applied when a police officer fails to properly inform a detainee that the officer is recording his or her conversation.

¶2 Although we conclude that conversations between traffic stop detainees and police officers are not private [452]*452conversations, we hold that the privacy act requires that officers inform detainees that the officers are recording their conversation. Because three of the four officers failed to properly inform the drivers in these cases, we hold that those officers violated the privacy act and that the proper remedy for those violations is the exclusion of the recordings. We remand Lewis, Kelly, and DeWaele for hearings without consideration of the improper recordings. We also remand Higgins for a hearing but hold that the recording in that case is admissible because the officer properly informed Higgins that he was being recorded.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Lewis v. State

¶3 On December 12, 2002, at approximately 1:00 am, Auburn Police Officer Douglas Faini witnessed Steven A. Lewis’ truck travel in excess of the speed limit and turn without signaling.1 After the truck turned into a parking lot, the officer saw Lewis throw a beer can out of the window before he stopped the truck. Officer Faini, who was in uniform and driving a patrol car, approached Lewis’ truck. A video camera mounted in the officer’s patrol car made a sound and video recording of their conversation.

¶4 Officer Faini asked Lewis several questions, to which Lewis did not respond. The officer noted that “Lewis’ eyes appeared bloodshot and watery” and that he could “smell the odor of intoxicating liquor emanating from the vehicle.” Administrative R. (AR) at 12. Officer Faini called for additional officers to assist him with Lewis, who would not exit his truck. Another officer used a taser weapon on Lewis in order to get him out of the truck. The officers handcuffed Lewis and placed him in the patrol car. Officer Faini arrested Lewis for DUI and “refusal to cooperate.” AR at 12-13. At the police station, Officer Faini read Lewis the [453]*453statutory implied consent warnings, but Lewis refused to take a breath test.2

¶5 Following this incident, the Department of Licensing (DOL) revoked Lewis’ driver’s license for two years. Lewis contested the revocation at a DOL administrative hearing. At the hearing, Lewis offered the video and audio recording of the traffic stop into evidence. Lewis then moved to suppress Officer Faini’s police report because the officer had failed to adequately inform Lewis that the officer was recording the traffic stop as required by Washington’s privacy act.

¶6 The parties dispute whether Officer Faini did advise Lewis that he was being recorded. Officer Faini’s police report does not state that he advised Lewis that he was being recorded. The recording of the incident is garbled at the point where Officer Faini first approached Lewis’ truck. Although the parties agree that the officer said the word “recorded,” the parties dispute whether the word was part of a warning that Lewis was being recorded. Pet’r’s Suppl. Br. (Lewis) at 15.

¶7 The hearing officer denied the suppression motion and upheld Lewis’ license revocation, finding that the State did not seek to admit the audio and video evidence and that the officer had informed Lewis that he was recording their conversation. Lewis appealed DOL’s decision to King County Superior Court, which reversed the revocation based on a finding that substantial evidence did not support that the officer informed Lewis of the recording. The court held that this failure violated the privacy act and suppressed “any video and audio recording, as well [as] any observations made by the arresting officer.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) (Lewis) (hereinafter LCP) at 70. The State appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals, which reversed the superior court, holding that traffic stop conversations with [454]*454a police officer were not private and could be recorded. Lewis v. Dep’t of Licensing, 125 Wn. App. 666, 681-82, 105 P.3d 1029 (2005).

B. State v. Higgins

¶8 On the evening of October 20,2001, Washington State Patrol Trooper Cheek began to follow Kenneth D. Higgins’ car after witnesses reported him driving erratically. After observing sustained weaving, Trooper Cheek stopped Higgins’ car. A video camera mounted in the trooper’s patrol car made a sound and video recording of their conversation.

¶9 After approaching the driver’s side window of Higgins’ car, Trooper Cheek told Higgins that he was being “recorded.” CP (Higgins) (hereinafter HCP) at 20. Higgins responded to the trooper’s questions but refused to participate in a field sobriety test. Trooper Cheek arrested Higgins for DUI. After placing Higgins in the patrol car, Trooper Cheek read Higgins his Miranda3 rights and stated that he was reminding him that he was being “recorded.” HCP at 3.

f 10 At a pretrial hearing in King County District Court, Higgins moved to “suppress the videotape and all evidence gathered during the use of the videotape” under the privacy act. HCP at 5. Higgins argued that the privacy act requires police officers to specifically inform traffic stop detainees that “a sound recording is being made,” rather than merely a “recording.” HCP at 8. The district court agreed and ordered the suppression of the recording and all other evidence related to Higgins’ traffic stop.

¶11 The State appealed to the King County Superior Court, which reversed the district court’s suppression order and held that traffic stop conversations are not private, or alternatively, that Trooper Cheek adequately informed Higgins that he was being recorded. Higgins appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the superior court, and concluded that an officer need not use the [455]*455word “sound” when advising a detainee that he is being recorded. Lewis, 125 Wn. App. at 684.4

C. City of Auburn v. Kelly

¶12 On November 15, 2002, at approximately 11:30 pm, a uniformed Auburn police officer witnessed Edward Kelly’s car fail to yield and nearly collide with another car after entering traffic. The officer pulled in behind Kelly and activated his lights. Kelly continued driving for several blocks and then stopped in the far lane of a busy road. A video camera mounted in the officer’s patrol car made an audio and video recording of their conversation.

¶13 The officer observed that Kelly had a passenger in his car and requested backup.

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