State v. Davis

126 P.3d 827, 131 Wash. App. 246
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 18, 2006
DocketNo. 32618-3-II
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 126 P.3d 827 (State v. Davis) 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
State v. Davis, 126 P.3d 827, 131 Wash. App. 246 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

¶1

Bridgewater, J.

— Michael Shawn Davis appeals his conviction of unlawful storage of ammonia. We hold that RCW 69.55.020 is not void for vagueness, either facially or as applied, under State v. Eckblad, 152 Wn.2d 515, 98 P.3d 1184 (2004). We affirm.

¶2 The facts of this case are uncontested. On September 14, 2004, Crystal Johnson called 911 to report that three men were manufacturing methamphetamine in the shed on the property where she lived in Port Orchard, Washington. When Kitsap County deputies arrived at the scene, they smelled a strong chemical odor emanating from the shed.

[249]*249¶3 Inside the shed, Deputy Adams observed Davis removing the metal valve from a four- to five-gallon propane tank. A second individual, James Cochran, appeared to be turning valves on a compressor. The compressor was attached to plastic hoses running out of buckets. Deputies Adams and Janson arrested Davis, Cochran, and a third person for manufacturing methamphetamine.

¶4 A clandestine lab team then processed the suspected methamphetamine lab. The lab team observed a large pressure cooker approximately one-fifth full of a brown substance, which tested positive for the presence of ammonia. The team further observed an “elaborate apparatus” consisting of several hoses, a pump, and a condenser in an ice bath. Clerk’s Papers at 51. The end of the hose running from the apparatus and the brass valve on the propane tank also tested positive for the presence of ammonia. The propane tank had Department of Transportation (DOT) markings and a warning label. It appeared to a Department of Ecology worker that Davis was involved in making anhydrous ammonia in the pressure cooker and storing it in the propane tank.

¶5 The State charged Davis with unlawful storage of ammonia, a violation of RCW 69.55.020. Before trial, Davis unsuccessfully moved to dismiss the charge on the grounds that RCW 69.55.020 is unconstitutionally vague. Based on stipulated facts, the court found Davis guilty as charged.

¶6 On appeal, Davis again contends that RCW 69.55.020 is unconstitutionally void for vagueness both on its face and as applied to him. RCW 69.55.020 provides in relevant part:

A person is guilty of the crime of unlawful storage of ammonia if the person possesses, transports, or delivers pressurized ammonia gas or pressurized ammonia gas solution in a container that (1) is not approved by the United States department of transportation to hold ammonia, or (2) was not constructed to meet state and federal industrial health and safety standards for holding ammonia.

[250]*250(Emphasis added.) Davis argues that the statute is vague because it incorporates highly detailed regulations that persons of ordinary intelligence cannot locate. We disagree.

¶7 The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that citizens be afforded fair warning of proscribed conduct. State v. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d 162, 181, 19 P.3d 1012 (2001) (quoting City of Seattle v. Montana, 129 Wn.2d 583, 596, 919 P.2d 1218 (1996)). The vagueness doctrine ensures that citizens receive notice as to what conduct the law proscribes and prevents the law from being arbitrarily enforced. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 181 (quoting In re Contested Election of Schoessler, 140 Wn.2d 368, 388, 998 P.2d 818 (2000)).

¶8 We review the constitutionality of a statute de novo. Eckblad, 152 Wn.2d at 518. A statute is presumed constitutional; the burden is on the party challenging the statute to prove that it is unconstitutionally vague beyond a reasonable doubt. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 180.

¶9 A statute is unconstitutionally vague if it fails to define an offense with sufficient definiteness so that persons of ordinary intelligence can understand what conduct is proscribed or if it does not provide standards sufficiently specific so as to prevent arbitrary enforcement. Eckblad, 152 Wn.2d at 518; Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 182. But, a statute is not void for vagueness merely because an individual cannot predict exactly when his or her conduct is prohibited. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 184. Nor is a statute vague because some of its terms are undefined; we will not invalidate a statute simply because it could have been drafted with greater precision. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 184.

¶10 In examining a challenge to the constitutionality of a statute, the “first step is to determine whether the statute is to be evaluated ‘as applied’ to the particular case or ... ‘on its face.’ ” Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d at 183 (quoting Weden v. San Juan County, 135 Wn.2d 678, 708, 958 P.2d 273 (1998) and City of Spokane v. Douglass, 115 Wn.2d 171,182, 795 P.2d 693 (1990)). Vagueness challenges are to be reviewed as applied to the particular facts of a case unless the First Amendment is [251]*251implicated. Eckblad, 152 Wn.2d at 518. Here, Davis does not assert a First Amendment right. But, we will conduct a facial analysis of the statute because (1) Eckblad nevertheless addressed whether a statute, which did not implicate the First Amendment, was facially vague and (2) Davis argues that RCW 69.55.020 is vague because it fails to provide citations to the standards and regulations it adopted. He points to State v. Maxwell, 74 Wn. App. 688, 878 P.2d 1220 (1994), to support his contention.

¶11 Maxwell involved a challenge to former RCW 46-.37.530 (1997), which provided that it was unlawful for any person to operate or ride on a motorcycle “unless wearing upon his or her head a protective helmet of a type conforming to rules adopted by the state patrol except when the vehicle is an antique motor-driven cycle or automobile that is licensed as a motorcycle.” Former RCW 46.37.530(l)(c) (emphasis added). The state patrol adopted Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 as the standard for protective helmets. Maxwell, 74 Wn. App. at 691. Former WAC 204--10-040 (1981) stated: “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 is hereby adopted by reference as the standard for motorcycle helmets.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 P.3d 827, 131 Wash. App. 246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-davis-washctapp-2006.