State v. Glas

54 P.3d 147
Washington Supreme Court·Decided September 19, 2002·No. 71514-9, 71571-8·Published·Cited by 49 cases

Opinion

54 P.3d 147 (2002)
147 Wash.2d 410

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Sean Tyler GLAS, Petitioner.
State of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Richard Lynn Sorrells, Appellant.

Nos. 71514-9, 71571-8.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued June 27, 2002.
Decided September 19, 2002.

*149 Kenneth W. Sharaga, Seattle, Douglas Ricks, Everett, for Petitioner.

Norm Maleng, King County Prosecutor, Jared Kimball, Deputy, James Whisman, Deputy, Seattle, Ronald Zirkle, Yakima County Prosecutor, Kevin Eilmes, Deputy, Kenneth Ramm, Deputy, Yakima, for Respondent.

*148 BRIDGE, J.

Sean Glas and Richard Sorrells, in separate cases, were each found guilty of voyeurism for taking pictures underneath women's skirts ("upskirt" voyeurism). Glas and Sorrells each contend that Washington's voyeurism statute, RCW 9A.44.115, does not apply to their actions because it does not criminalize upskirt photography in a public place. They both also assert that RCW 9A.44.115 is unconstitutionally overbroad and void for vagueness. We hold that RCW 9A.44.115, as written, does not render unlawful upskirt photography in public places; however we do not find the statute, taken as a whole, unconstitutional.

I

On April 26, 1999, Glas took pictures up the skirts of two women working at the Valley Mall in Union Gap, Washington. Inez Mosier was working in the ladies' department at Sears when Glas caught her attention. Glas was lurking near her and acting suspiciously. Mosier saw a flash out of the corner of her eye and turned around to discover Glas squatting or sitting on the floor a few feet behind her. She later noticed a small, silver camera in his hand. The same day, Shantel Phillips was working at a cart in the main hallway of the mall. As she helped a customer, she heard a click and saw a flash illuminate behind her, level with her knees. She turned and observed Glas retreating with a camera in his hand. Police later confiscated the film, revealing pictures of Mosier's and Phillips' undergarments.

On July 21, 2000, Sorrells attended the Bite of Seattle at Seattle Center with a video camera. Jolene Jang was standing in line to buy ice cream when she noticed Sorrells behind her. Jang thought that Sorrells had his hand on her purse so she reacted and Sorrells fled from the line. A witness later informed police that she had observed Sorrells videotaping underneath little girls' dresses. Police viewed a copy of the videotape from Sorrells' camcorder and discovered images of children and adults, including Jang. Many of the images were taken from ground level, recording up the females' skirts.

Following the bench trial, the trial court found Glas guilty of voyeurism under RCW 9A.44.115. The Court of Appeals, Division Three, affirmed the conviction, despite Glas' claims that the statute was unconstitutional. See State v. Glas, 106 Wash.App. 895, 27 P.3d 216 (2001). Sorrells filed a motion to dismiss his case in King County Superior Court, contending that the voyeurism statute did not apply to pictures taken in a public place. The trial court denied Sorrells' motion and found him guilty on stipulated facts. In light of Glas, Sorrells appealed directly to this court. We accepted review and consolidated the two cases.

II

A. Under RCW 9A.44.115, does a person have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place?

Washington's voyeurism statute provides:

A person commits the crime of voyeurism if, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person, he or she knowingly views, photographs, or films another person, without that person's knowledge and consent, while the person being viewed, photographed, or filmed is in a place where he or she would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

RCW 9A.44.115(2) (emphasis added). The statute defines a place where a person "would have a reasonable expectation of privacy" as either "[a] place where a reasonable person would believe that he or she could disrobe in privacy, without being concerned that his or her undressing was being photographed or filmed by another;" or "[a] place where one may reasonably expect to be safe *150 from casual or hostile intrusion or surveillance." RCW 9A.44.115(1)(b)(i), (ii).

Both Glas and Sorrells contend that the voyeurism statute was misapplied in their respective cases because the victims were in public places and therefore did not possess a reasonable expectation of privacy. In Glas, both women were employees working in the public area of a shopping mall, while in Sorrells, the woman was standing in a concession line at the Bite of Seattle at the Seattle Center. Although Glas' and Sorrells' actions are reprehensible, we agree that the voyeurism statute, as written, does not prohibit upskirt photography in a public location.

The Court of Appeals in Glas determined that the statutory definition for a place where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy created two separate categories of "places." Glas, 106 Wash.App. at 902, 27 P.3d 216. The court applied two general rules of statutory construction: that different language signifies different intent and that no part of a statute should be rendered superfluous. Id. (citing State v. Jackson, 137 Wash.2d 712, 724, 976 P.2d 1229 (1999); Cazzanigi v. Gen. Elec. Credit Corp., 132 Wash.2d 433, 446, 938 P.2d 819 (1997); Dep't of Transp. v. State Employees' Ins. Bd., 97 Wash.2d 454, 458, 645 P.2d 1076 (1982)). Following these rules, the court concluded that the first subsection, RCW 9A.44.115(1)(b)(i), applied to the "traditional venue of the peeping torn," such as bathrooms, bedrooms, changing rooms and tanning booths. Id. at 902-03, 27 P.3d 216. It then concluded that the second subsection, RCW 9A.44.115(1)(b)(ii), applied not to places where one would normally disrobe, but rather to places where one would normally remain clothed. Id. at 903, 27 P.3d 216. Notably the court stated, "People preserve their bodily privacy by wearing clothes in public and undressing in private. It

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