Charles Z. Smith

The case involved a 12-year-old juvenile charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana after Renton police officers detained him and others late at night in a commercial area following an anonymous report of fighting. Officers determined no crime was occurring but detained the boys briefly to contact their parents under the community caretaking function, leading to a pat-down search before transport that uncovered drugs. The juvenile court denied the motion to suppress the evidence, and both the Court of Appeals and Washington Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and disposition. The Supreme Court held that the brief detention to ensure the minor's safety was permissible under the Fourth Amendment once criminal suspicion had ended, and the pat-down for officer safety before placing him in a patrol car was reasonable in scope.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved part-time community college instructors who sued several Washington community college districts for unpaid minimum and overtime wages under the Washington Minimum Wage Act, claiming they were hourly employees not compensated for non-classroom work. The colleges argued that the instructors were professional employees paid on a salary basis and thus exempt from the Act's wage and overtime provisions. The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts' dismissal of the claims on summary judgment. The court reasoned that the instructors' compensation, calculated by multiplying contact hours by rates from collective bargaining agreements and paid in equal installments, included payment for outside work and was not subject to improper deductions, qualifying them as salaried professionals under the exemption.

labor & employment

In HJS Development, Inc. v. Pierce County, the dispute arose when a Pierce County hearing examiner revoked a developer's preliminary plat approval for a 63-lot residential subdivision on Fox Island under local code provisions allowing modification or revocation of permits for environmental and zoning compliance. The Thurston County Superior Court ruled for the developer, holding that state platting statutes in chapter 58.17 RCW preempted any local authority to revoke preliminary plat approvals. The Washington Supreme Court considered whether the examiner possessed revocation power, whether such local ordinances conflicted with or were preempted by state law including the five-year timeline for final plat submission under RCW 58.17.140, and whether revocation was clearly erroneous without first considering lesser sanctions.

propertyprocedureenvironmentbusiness & regulatory

The case concerned whether the Fraternal Order of Eagles' male-only membership policy violated Washington's Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), chapter 49.60 RCW. Local Aeries and female members challenged the Grand Aerie's refusal to admit women, after some chapters began doing so following an internal opinion finding the policy inconsistent with civil law. The Washington Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held that fraternal organizations qualify for the WLAD exemption only if they are "distinctly private," which requires examining factors such as selectivity, control over membership, and public versus private activities. The Eagles' scale, public events, facility rentals, and non-selective practices meant the policy was not exempt, so the organization must comply with the anti-discrimination statute.

civil rights

In this consolidated criminal case, brothers John and Paul Vickers were convicted in Pierce County Superior Court of first-degree felony murder, aggravated first-degree murder, and related charges stemming from an armed robbery and shooting at the 38th Street Pub in Tacoma, Washington, in January 1998. They appealed, challenging the validity of a search warrant based on information from a confidential informant, the suggestiveness of a photomontage used to identify Paul Vickers, and the use of John Vickers's prior conviction to sentence him as a persistent offender. The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding that the search warrant affidavit established probable cause despite a minor date error by the informant, that the photomontage was not impermissibly suggestive, and that the State need only prove the prior conviction by a preponderance of the evidence for sentencing purposes. The Court of Appeals decision was upheld in full.

criminal lawprocedure

The case concerned independent contractors N. John and Lyn Kilian, who operated a bumper boat concession for the City of Chelan for many years until the city council declined to renew their contract in 2000; the Kilians alleged that the non-renewal constituted age discrimination in violation of RCW 49.60.030 and brought the claim in federal court alongside other claims. The United States District Court certified to the Washington Supreme Court the question whether an independent contractor may assert an age discrimination claim under RCW 49.60.030. The court held that no such claim is available. It reached this conclusion through straightforward statutory interpretation, observing that the text of RCW 49.60.030 is unambiguous, does not extend to independent contractors, and must be read consistently with related provisions such as RCW 49.60.180 that distinguish employees from contractors, as previously recognized in Marquis v. City of Spokane.

labor & employmentcivil rights