State v. Stannard

134 Wash. App. 828
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided August 29, 2006·No. Nos. 33227-2-II; 33229-9-II; 33230-2-II·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Armstrong, J.

¶1 Christina Louise Stannard, Thomas Frank Durham, and Craig Allen Stevenson appeal their convictions of illegally hunting black bear using bait, violations of RCW 77.15.245. In upholding the convictions, the Jefferson County Superior Court rejected the defendants’ argument that Initiative 655, which outlawed using bait to hunt black bear, violated article II, section 19 of the Washington Constitution by embracing more than one [832] subject and by failing to express the initiative’s subject in its title. We affirm, holding that the initiative deals with one subject, which is fairly expressed in the title.

FACTS

A. Initiative 655 and RCW 77.15.245

¶2 In 1996, Washington voters approved Initiative 655 (1-655). The 1-655 ballot title stated: “Shall it be a gross misdemeanor to take, hunt, or attract black bears with bait, or to hunt bears, cougars, bobcat or lynx with dogs?” Clerk’s Papers (CP) (Stannard) at 70. The legislature first codified 1-655 in former RCW 77.16.360 (1997). Laws of 1997, ch. 1, § 1. The initiative imposed a five-year hunting license revocation upon the first conviction and a permanent revocation for any subsequent conviction under the statute. Laws of 1997, ch. 1, § 1.

¶3 In 2000, the legislature amended RCW 77.16.360 to include two additional exceptions to the prohibition on using dogs for hunting. Laws of 2000, ch. 248. At the same time, the legislature recodified former RCW 77.16.360 (1997) at RCW 77.15.245, to reflect the merger between the former Departments of Fisheries and Wildlife into a single agency: the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Laws of 2000, ch. 107, §§ 1, 260.

¶4 In 2001, the legislature reenacted and amended RCW 77.15.245, making technical changes without altering the statute’s substance. Laws of 2001, ch. 253, § 31.

B. The Crime

¶5 Federal and state law enforcement officers learned that people were using bait to hunt bear on Washington State Department of Natural Resources lands south of the Queets River in western Jefferson County. The officers contacted Christina Stannard, Thomas Durham, Craig [833] Stevenson, and several others in the area.1 Concluding that Stannard, Durham, and Stevenson had illegally used bait to hunt black bear, the officers arrested them. The State charged Stannard, Durham, and Stevenson with illegally hunting black bear with bait, contrary to RCW 77-.15.245(1).

C. Procedure

¶6 The district court granted Stannard’s, Durham’s, and Stevenson’s motions to dismiss the criminal charges, ruling that 1-655 violated article II, section 19 of the Washington Constitution. Specifically, the district court held that 1-655 violated the “single subject rule.” CP (Stannard) at 76; CP (Durham) at 96; CP (Stevenson) at 70; see Wash. Const, art. II, § 19 (no bill shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title). On appeal, the Jefferson County Superior Court reversed the district court, ruling that 1-655 satisfied article II, section 19’s “single subject” and “subject-in-title” requirements. CP (Stevenson) at 120-21.

¶7 We granted Stannard’s, Durham’s, and Stevenson’s motions for discretionary review.

ANALYSIS

I. Effect of Amendments to and Recodification of 1-655

¶8 The State argues that we need not reach the constitutional question presented here because the legislature cured any constitutional defect when it adopted RCW 77.15.245. The State did not make this argument before the district court or the superior court, and it cites no Washington case addressing this argument. Although we generally resolve cases on nonconstitutional grounds if both constitutional and nonconstitutional issues exist, we de[834] cline to do so here. See State v. Speaks, 119 Wn.2d 204, 207, 829 P.2d 1096 (1992).

¶9 Voters passed 1-655 in 1996, and the legislature first codified the initiative under RCW 77.16.360 in 1997. Laws of 1997, ch. 1, § 1. In 2000, the legislature amended the statute and recodified it under RCW 77.15.245. Laws of 2000, ch. 248; Laws of 2000, ch. 107, §§ 260, 275. The defendants committed their violations in July or August 2003. Thus, if the State’s argument is correct, the legislature’s act of recodifying and amending the initiative in 2000 would bar any constitutional challenge to the initiative by the defendants or anyone else who was first touched by the initiative after 2000. We are unwilling, without supporting Washington authority, to so severely restrict a citizen’s right to challenge an initiative on constitutional grounds.

II. Constitutionality of 1-655 and RCW 77.15.245

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State v. Stannard, 134 Wash. App. 828 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

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