State v. Olsen

Washington Supreme Court·Decided August 3, 2017·No. 93315-4·Published

Opinion

F~l~t:E· /L CL!RKI OFFICE~ 1tJPREME COURT, STATE OF WASHINGTON This opinion was ·filed for record I·:.rlVv\ hJvVtA(t . Ct} . i DATE._ _ __ at.Boo RM onAu.y.8, 22n

~.~

CHIEF JUSTICE • J

SUSAN L. CARLSON

SUPREME COURT CLERK

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, )

)

Respondent, ) No. 93315-4 )

v. ) En Banc )

BRITTANIE J. OLSEN, )

) Filed AUG O3 2.617 Petitioner. )

__________ )

OWENS, J. - At issue in this case is whether a court may require a probationer convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) to submit to random urinalysis testing (UAs) for controlled substances. In particular, this issue centers on whether this testing violates DUI probationers' privacy interests under article I, section 7 of our state constitution. Random UAs do implicate a probationer's reduced privacy interests. But here, where urinalysis was authorized to monitor compliance with a valid probation condition requiring Olsen to refrain from drug and alcohol consumption, the testing does not violate article I, section 7. Accordingly, we affirm the Court of Appeals.

State v. Olsen No. 93315-4

FACTS

The facts are undisputed. In June 2014, Brittanie Olsen pleaded guilty in Jefferson County District Court to one count of DUI, a gross misdemeanor offense under RCW 46.61.502. The court imposed a sentence of 364 days of confinement with 334 days suspended. As a condition of her suspended sentence, the court ordered that Olsen not consume alcohol, marijuana, or nonprescribed drugs. Over defense objection, the court also required Olsen to submit to "random urine analysis screens ... to ensure compliance with conditions regarding the consumption of alcohol and controlled substances." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 5.

Olsen appealed to Jefferson County Superior Court, arguing that the random UAs requirement violated her privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution. She contended a warrantless search of a misdemeanant probationer may not be random but instead "must be supported by a well-founded suspicion that the probationer has violated a condition of her sentence." CP at 7. The court agreed, vacated Olsen's sentence, and remanded to the district court for resentencing without the requirement that Olsen submit to random urine tests.

The State appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that "offenders on probation for DUI convictions do not have a privacy interest in

State v. Olsen No. 93315-4

preventing the random collection and testing of their urine when used to ensure compliance with a probation condition prohibiting the consumption of alcohol, marijuana, and/or nonprescribed drugs." State v. Olsen, 194 Wn. App. 264, 272, 374 P.3d 1209 (2016). Olsen then petitioned this court for review, which was granted. State v. Olsen, 186 Wn.2d 1017, 383 P.3d 1020 (2016).

ISSUE

Do random UAs ordered to monitor compliance with a valid probation condition not to consume drugs or alcohol violate a DUI probationer's privacy interests under article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution?

ANALYSIS

The Washington State Constitution provides that "[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law." CONST. art. I, § 7. It is well established that in some areas, this provision provides greater protection than the Fourth Amendment, its federal counterpart. York v. Wahkiakum Sch. Dist. No. 200, 163 Wn.2d 297, 306, 178 P. 3d 995 (2008) (plurality opinion).

One area of increased protection is the collection and testing of urine. Id. at 307. Compared to the federal courts, "we offer heightened protection for bodily

State v. Olsen No. 93315-4

1

functions." Id. Washington courts have generally held that for ordinary citizens,

suspicionless urinalysis testing constitutes a disturbance of one's private affairs that, absent authority of law, violates article I, section 7. Id. at 316 (holding that suspicionless urinalysis tests of student athletes violate article I, section 7); Robinson v. City of Seattle, 102 Wn. App. 795, 811, 10 P .3d 452 (2000) (holding that preemployment UAs for jobs that do not directly relate to public safety violate article I, section 7).

On the other hand, we have repeatedly upheld blood or urine tests of prisoners, probationers, and parolees without explicitly conducting an analysis under article I, section 7. For example, in In re Juveniles A, B, C, D, E, we upheld HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) tests of convicted felons without individualized suspicion, but decided the case under the Fourth Amendment instead of our state constitutional provision. 121 Wn.2d 80, 98, 847 P.2d 455 (1993); see also State v. Olivas, 122 Wn.2d 73, 856 P.2d 1076 (1993) (DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) blood testing of convicted felons). In other cases, lower courts have upheld random drug testing of probationers or parolees on statutory

1 The parties seem to agree that article I, section 7 provides greater protection than the Fourth Amendment in this context. Accordingly, they do not analyze the issue under the federal constitution. Neither party has suggested performing an analysis under State v. Gunwall, 106 Wn.2d 54, 720 P.2d 808 (1986) to determine whether article I, section 7 provides broader protection than the Fourth Amendment under the specific facts of this case.

State v. Olsen No. 93315-4

grounds, without examining the question under either constitution. See, e.g., State v. Acevedo, 159 Wn. App. 221,234,248 P.3d 526 (2010); State v. Vant, 145 Wn. App. 592, 603-04, 186 P.3d 1149 (2008).

We have not, however, directly addressed the issue under our state constitutional provision. Two inquiries are implicit in an article I, section 7 claim: (1) whether the contested state action "disturbed" a person's "private affair[s]" and, if so, (2) whether the action was undertaken with "authority of law." State v. Reeder, 184 Wn.2d 805, 814, 365 P.3d 1243 (2015). "Part of this inquiry focuses on what kind of protection has been historically afforded to the interest asserted, and part of it focuses on the nature and extent of the information that may be obtained as a result of government conduct." Id. (citing State v. Miles, 160 Wn.2d 236, 244, 156 P.3d 864 (2007)).

A. UAs Implicate a DUI Probationer's Privacy Interests We first look to whether UAs disturb DUI probationers' "private affairs."

More specifically, we consider whether providing a urine sample is among '"those privacy interests which citizens of this state have held, and should be entitled to hold, safe from governmental trespass."' Id. (quoting In re Pers. Restraint of Maxfield, 133 Wn.2d 332, 339, 945 P.2d 196 (1997)).

State v. Olsen No. 93315-4

We have consistently held that the nonconsensual removal of bodily fluids implicates privacy interests. York, 163 Wn.2d at 307; Juveniles, 121 Wn.2d at 90; Olivas, 122 Wn.2d at 83; State v. Curran, 116 Wn.2d 174, 184, 804 P.2d 558 (1991), abrogated on other grounds by State v. Berlin, 133 Wn.2d 541, 947 P.2d 700 (1997). UAs implicate privacy interests in two ways. First, the act of providing a urine sample is fundamentally intrusive. This is particularly true where urine samples are collected under observation to ensure compliance. 2 See York, 163 Wn.2d at 308 ("Even if done in an enclosed stall, this is a significant intn1sion on a student's fundamental right of privacy."). Second, "chemical analysis of urine, like that of blood, can reveal a host of private medical facts about [a person], including whether he or she is epileptic, pregnant, or diabetic." Skinner v. Ry. Labor Executives' Ass'n, 489 U.S. 602,617,109 S. Ct. 1402, 103 L. Ed. 2d 639 (1989). These privacy interests are precisely what article I, section 7 is meant

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