State v. Olney

72 P.3d 235, 117 Wash. App. 524
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJuly 8, 2003
DocketNos. 21010-3-III; 21011-1-III
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 72 P.3d 235 (State v. Olney) 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. Olney, 72 P.3d 235, 117 Wash. App. 524 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Brown, C.J.

RCW 77.15.460(1) criminalizes possession of a loaded rifle or shotgun in a motor vehicle. The question here is whether the statute applies to Deland R. Olney and [526]*526Evans Lewis, Jr., enrolled members of a recognized Indian tribe with treaty reserved hunting rights. We hold RCW 77.15.460 applies to the petitioners without conflict with their treaty rights, and affirm the denial of their motions to dismiss and their convictions.

FACTS

Mr. Olney and Mr. Lewis are enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe. The two were hunting on state land near the city of Naches. A Fish and Wildlife officer saw the men driving a pickup truck with a five-point bull elk in the bed of the truck. Based on routine practice during open hunting season, the officer stopped the men and asked for identification, licensing, and harvesting information. Mr. Olney and Mr. Lewis both produced tribal enrollment cards for the officer.

The officer conducted a safety check of their weapons. Mr. Olney and Mr. Lewis had cartridges in their rifles. Both men were cited for unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in violation of RCW 77.15.460. Their weapons were not confiscated.

Mr. Olney and Mr. Lewis both moved unsuccessfully to dismiss, arguing RCW 77.15.460 was preempted by the supremacy clause, U.S. Const, art. VI, cl. 2, in view of the Treaty of 1855 because it represented an invalid exercise of State police power to regulate their manner of hunting. The district court held the statute, as a safety statute, applied generally throughout the state whether a person was hunting or not.

Both petitioners were convicted in consolidated trials and were given 90-day suspended sentences. The superior court affirmed. We granted discretionary review because the issue, whether RCW 77.15.460 prohibits the possession of loaded firearms in a motor vehicle generally, is one of public interest which should be determined by an appellate court. RAP 2.3(d)(3). We consolidated their appeals.

[527]*527ANALYSIS

The issue is whether the district court erred in denying Mr. Olne/s and Mr. Lewis’s requests for dismissal of the firearm charges for lack of jurisdiction and concluding RCW 77.15.460(1) was not preempted by the operation of the Treaty of 1855 through the supremacy clause on the grounds that the statute is one of general application for safety purposes rather than one designed to regulate the manner of Indian hunting.

In general, we review an order denying a motion to dismiss for manifest abuse of discretion. State v. Gary J.E., 99 Wn. App. 258, 261, 991 P.2d 1220, review denied, 141 Wn.2d 1020 (2000). Mr. Olney and Mr. Lewis ask us to review the trial court’s interpretation of RCW 77.15.460. We review a trial court’s interpretation of a statute de novo. State v. Avila, 102 Wn. App. 882, 888, 10 P.3d 486 (2000), review denied, 143 Wn.2d 1009 (2001).

In 1855, Washington Territory entered into a treaty with the Yakama Tribe, guaranteeing hunting and fishing rights. State v. Buchanan, 138 Wn.2d 186, 198, 200 n.6, 978 P.2d 1070 (1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1154 (2000). “[A] treaty with Indians is the supreme law of the land and is binding on the State until Congress limits or abrogates the treaty.” Id. at 201 (citing U.S. Const, art. VI; Antoine v. Washington, 420 U.S. 194, 201, 95 S. Ct. 944, 43 L. Ed. 2d 129 (1975); State v. McCormack, 117 Wn.2d 141, 143, 812 P.2d 483 (1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1111 (1992)).

Petitioners first contend RCW 77.15.460 is an improper law regulating Indian hunting contrary to treaty rights. RCW 77.15.460 partly provides:

(1) A person is guilty of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle if:
(a) The person carries, transports, conveys, possesses, or controls a rifle or shotgun in or on a motor vehicle ....
(4) This section does not apply if the person:
[528]*528(a) Is a law enforcement officer who is authorized to carry a firearm and is on duty within the officer’s respective jurisdiction;
(b) Possesses a disabled hunter’s permit as provided by RCW 77.32.237 and complies with all rules of the department concerning hunting by persons with disabilities.

Absent ambiguity, a statute’s meaning must be derived from the wording of the statute itself without judicial construction or interpretation. State v. Alvarez, 128 Wn.2d 1, 16, 904 P.2d 754 (1995). We derive the plain meaning of the statute “from all that the Legislature has said in the statute and related statutes which disclose legislative intent about the provision in question.” Dep’t of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, L.L.C., 146 Wn.2d 1, 11, 43 P.3d 4 (2002). When statutory language is clear and unequivocal, courts must assume the legislature meant exactly what it said and apply the statute as written. State v. J.M., 144 Wn.2d 472, 480, 28 P.3d 720 (2001) (citing State v. Chapman, 140 Wn.2d 436, 450, 998 P.2d 282, cert. denied, 531 U.S. 984 (2000)).

The word “person” as used in Title 77 RCW is defined as “an individual; a corporation; a public or private entity or organization; a local, state, or federal agency; all business organizations, including corporations and partnerships; or a group of two or more individuals acting with a common purpose whether acting in an individual, representative, or official capacity.” RCW 77.08.010(4). This definition is not limited to hunters.

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Bluebook (online)
72 P.3d 235, 117 Wash. App. 524, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-olney-washctapp-2003.