State v. Nelson

147 P.3d 553
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in State v. Nelson. Read the opinion of the Court — 156 Wash. 2d 1016
Washington Supreme Court·Decided November 22, 2006·No. 77629-6·Published

Opinion

147 P.3d 553 (2006)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Mark P. NELSON, Petitioner.

No. 77629-6.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued June 27, 2006.
Decided November 22, 2006.

Mick Woynarowski, The Defender Association, Seattle, for Petitioner.

Deanna Jennings Fuller, King County Prosecutor's Office, Seattle, for Respondent.

OWENS, J.

¶ 1 Petitioner Mark P. Nelson seeks reversal of his conviction for driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license in the first degree. Nelson argues the conviction should be reversed because the Department of Licensing *554 (DOL) revoked his driver's license without providing constitutionally sufficient notice. We affirm Nelson's conviction because DOL's process for revoking Nelson's driver's license was reasonably calculated to put Nelson on notice of the pendency of the revocation and, therefore, provided Nelson with adequate procedural due process.

Facts

¶ 2 On December 10, 2000, Nelson was stopped for driving under the influence. His driver's license was suspended because he refused to take a breath test. From December 10, 2000, until April 12, 2001, Nelson was in custody at the King County North Rehabilitation Facility (NRF). On January 3, 2001, while at the NRF, Nelson sent an inquiry to DOL asking for information about how Nelson could have his driver's license reinstated. Thereafter, on March 16, 2001, after determining that Nelson was an habitual traffic offender, DOL sent an order of revocation by certified mail to Nelson's address of record, which was a residence in Kirkland. The order provided that Nelson's license was revoked for seven years. The revocation was effective as of April 15, 2001, three days after Nelson was released from the NRF. On April 16, 2001, four days after Nelson's release from the NRF, the order of revocation was returned "unclaimed" to the DOL mailroom.

¶ 3 Subsequently, on June 11, 2002, Nelson was arrested for driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license in the first degree. This charge requires the State to prove that the defendant is an habitual traffic offender. RCW 46.20.342(1)(a). To satisfy this requirement, the State relied on the order of revocation sent on March 16, 2001. King County District Court found Nelson guilty as charged. Nelson appealed to King County Superior Court, which affirmed Nelson's conviction. Division One of the Court of Appeals denied discretionary review. We granted discretionary review.

Issue

¶ 4 Did DOL deprive Nelson of procedural due process when it sent notice of Nelson's driver's license revocation only to Nelson's address of record and not to the NRF, where DOL knew that Nelson had previously been incarcerated?

Analysis

¶ 5 Standard of Review. Nelson claims that DOL failed to provide procedural due process when it revoked his driver's license. We review this constitutional challenge de novo. See City of Redmond v. Moore, 151 Wash.2d 664, 668, 91 P.3d 875 (2004).

¶ 6 Procedural Due Process. A driver's license is a property interest protected by the due process clauses of the United States and Washington Constitutions. State v. Dolson, 138 Wash.2d 773, 776-77, 982 P.2d 100 (1999) (citing Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 91 S.Ct. 1586, 29 L.Ed.2d 90 (1971)). Thus, before a driver's license may be revoked, the government must provide the licensee with "`notice and opportunity for hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.'" Olympic Forest Prods., Inc. v. Chaussee Corp., 82 Wash.2d 418, 422, 511 P.2d 1002 (1973) (quoting Mullane v. Cent. Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 313, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950)). However, "[d]ue process does not require that a property owner receive actual notice before the government may take his property." Jones v. Flowers, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 1708, 1713, 164 L.Ed.2d 415 (2006). Instead, the notice must be "`reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections.'" Jones, 126 S.Ct. at 1713-14 (quoting Mullane, 339 U.S. at 314, 70 S.Ct. 652); see also City of Redmond v. Arroyo-Murillo, 149 Wash.2d 607, 612, 70 P.3d 947 (2003). Notice is reasonably calculated if "`[t]he means employed [are] such as one desirous of actually informing the absentee might reasonably adopt to accomplish it.'" Jones, 126 S.Ct. at 1715 (quoting Mullane, 339 U.S. at 315, 70 S.Ct. 652). The State bears the burden of proving that a driver's license revocation complied with due process. Arroyo-Murillo, 149 Wash.2d at 612, 70 P.3d 947.

*555 ¶ 7 The State argues that it satisfied due process requirements because it followed the statutory requirements for providing notice of a driver's license revocation. The revocation proceeded pursuant to the following statute:

Whenever a person's driving record, as maintained by the department, brings him or her within the definition of an habitual traffic offender . . . the department shall forthwith notify the person of the revocation in writing by certified mail at his or her address of record as maintained by the department.

RCW 46.65.065(1) (emphasis added).[1] The State claims that compliance with this statutory notice requirement provided Nelson with sufficient procedural due process. For this proposition, the State relies on this court's statement that "[t]o establish a violation of due process, Defendants must at least allege that the incorrect DOL revocation notices deprived them of notice and/or an opportunity to be heard." State v. Storhoff, 133 Wash.2d 523, 527, 946 P.2d 783 (1997); see also State v. Perry, 96 Wash.App. 1, 5, 975 P.2d 6 (1999) (per curiam). Nelson concedes that the State followed the statutory procedures for license revocations. However, despite statutory compliance, Nelson argues that the notice violated due process because it was not reasonably calculated to inform him of the pendency of the revocation.

¶ 8 We agree with Nelson that the State's statutory compliance does not preclude Nelson from bringing this as-applied procedural due process challenge. See Jones, 126 S.Ct. at 1716. In Jones, the State of Arkansas mailed two certified notices of property tax delinquency to the address maintained for Jones in the State's records. Id. at 1712-13. Both letters were returned "unclaimed." Id. Ultimately, the property at issue was seized. Id. at 1713.

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Related

Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co.
339 U.S. 306 (Supreme Court, 1950)
Covey v. Town of Somers
351 U.S. 141 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Bell v. Burson
402 U.S. 535 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Robinson v. Hanrahan
409 U.S. 38 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Jones v. Flowers
547 U.S. 220 (Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Storhoff
946 P.2d 783 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
Olympic Forest Products, Inc. v. Chaussee Corp.
511 P.2d 1002 (Washington Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. Perry
975 P.2d 6 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1999)
State v. Dolson
982 P.2d 100 (Washington Supreme Court, 1999)
City of Redmond v. Moore
91 P.3d 875 (Washington Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Storhoff
133 Wash. 2d 523 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Dolson
138 Wash. 2d 773 (Washington Supreme Court, 1999)
City of Redmond v. Arroyo-Murillo
70 P.3d 947 (Washington Supreme Court, 2003)
City of Redmond v. Moore
151 Wash. 2d 664 (Washington Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Nelson
147 P.3d 553 (Washington Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Perry
975 P.2d 6 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1999)