State v. McKinneyState v. McKinney
Lonnie McKinney, Ralph Martin, and Randal Schroeder were each arrested following a series of events that began when police officers accessed information contained in their Department of Licensing (DOL) driver‘s license records. Each moved for dismissal or suppression on the ground that the officers’ searches of DOL databases prior to arrest violated the privacy provisions of the state constitution. Their motions were denied. The defendants were convicted and they appealed. Their cases were consolidated for review and the Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Martin, 106 Wash.App. 850, 25 P.3d 488 (2001). We agree with the Court of Appeals that computerized police checks of license plate numbers and DOL licensing records do not violate privacy rights guaranteed by
FACTS
Lonnie McKinney
On January 19, 2000, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Officer Hoag was on routine patrol when he saw a red Ford Explorer in the parking lot of a market. The officer ran the license plate and the associated driver‘s license for the registered owner of the car. The check indicated that the owner had a suspended driver‘s license. The officer noticed that the driver of the Ford Explorer matched the physical description of the registered owner of the vehicle. The officer stopped the vehicle and detained the defendant for driving while his license was suspended. When the officer searched the defendant‘s vehicle incident to arrest he saw a woman, later identified as Miriam McKinney,
Ralph Martin
Based on a neighbor‘s prior complaint of narcotics activity and an ongoing narcotics investigation, officers of the Seattle Police North Precinct Anti-Crime Team suspected that a certain van might be involved in narcotics related activity. On June 9, 1999, Officer Zylak checked the DOL database for the van‘s plate and discovered that it was registered to Ralph Martin. He then ran Martin‘s name through the WACIC (Washington State Criminal Information Computer) database and discovered two outstanding arrest warrants, including one no bail warrant. Officers contacted Martin in the driveway next to the van. Martin initially stated that he was Robert Smith but when an officer indicated that he thought “Smith” was Ralph Martin, Martin admitted his identity and was arrested. In a search incident to arrest, the officers discovered cocaine in Martin‘s pocket. Martin was charged with drug possession.
Randal Schroeder
On the evening of August 14, 1999, police officer Bruce Fifield was patrolling the parking lot of a motel—randomly checking vehicle license plates for stolen vehicles. In the officer‘s experience the motel is a place where stolen cars are abandoned. As the officer conducted his check of vehicles in the parking lot, he discovered through the DOL database search that the registered owners of a Chevy Nova and Chevy truck were Donna Schroeder and Randal Schroeder, respectively. These vehicles were parked next to each other. The officer ran these names through WACIC, which revealed that there was an active protection order prohibiting Mr. Schroeder from having contact with Donna Schroeder. After further investigation, the officer discovered that Randal and Donna Schroeder were in a motel room together, and Randal Schroeder was arrested.
The defendants each moved for dismissal or suppression based on violation of
Analysis
The defendants contend that the computerized checks of their vehicle registration and licensing information through DOL records without probable cause or a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity violate their right to privacy under
It is now well settled that the protections guaranteed by
However, “`[a] determination that a given state constitutional provision affords enhanced protection in a particular context does not necessarily mandate such a result in a different context.‘” State v. Johnson, 128 Wash.2d 431, 446, 909 P.2d 293 (1996) (quoting State v. Russell, 125 Wash.2d 24, 58, 882 P.2d 747 (1994)). Because there is no longer any question that
In determining whether a search violates
It is appropriate to begin our analysis by looking to what kind of protection has historically been accorded these DOL records. See Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d at 66, 720 P.2d 808 (reviewing state law protections extended to electronic communications); Johnson, 128 Wash.2d at 445, 909 P.2d 293 (considering preexisting state law regulating travel on public thoroughfares); Boland, 115 Wash.2d 571, 800 P.2d 1112 (considering preexisting state law relating to curbside garbage collection).
Historically, Washington citizens have not enjoyed a constitutionally protected privacy interest in their drivers’ records. As amicus Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys points out, when motor vehicle license plates were first introduced in Washington in 1915, the law required that ownership information be filed with the secretary of state and this information be available to the public. See Laws of 1915, ch. 142, § 5; Laws of 1890, ch. XX, § 2, at 630. In 1937, the legislature adopted legislation creating the DOL and requiring that agency to maintain vehicle ownership and licensing information. See Laws of 1937, ch. 188, §§ 4, 29, 43. That same legislation provided that the information be made available to the public upon request for one dollar. See Laws of 1937, ch. 188, § 80. Until 1990 there were no restrictions on who could obtain vehicle registration information. See Final Legislative Report, 51st Leg., Reg. Sess. 55 (Wash.1990); Substitute H.B. 2463; Laws of 1990, ch. 232.
In 1990, the legislature narrowed the public‘s access to information from the DOL when it amended
The legislature recognizes the extraordinary value of the vehicle title and registration records for law enforcement and commerce within the state. The legislature also recognizes that indiscriminate release of the vehicle owner information to be an infringement upon the rights of the owner and can subject owners to intrusions of their privacy. The purpose of this act is to limit the release of vehicle owners’ names and addresses while maintaining the availability of the vehicle records for the purposes of law enforcement and commerce.
Laws of 1990, ch. 232, § 1.
Additionally, the access restrictions adopted by the legislature in the 1990
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of
chapter 42.17 RCW , the name or address of an individual vehicle owner shall not be released by the department, county auditor, or agency or firm authorized by the department except under the following circumstances:....
(5) This section shall not apply to requests for information by governmental entities or requests that may be granted under any other provision of this title expressly authorizing the disclosure of the names or addresses of vehicle owners.
Former
As to records of traffic charges and dispositions, the director of licensing in Olympia must keep all abstracts received from the courts on file, which must be open to public inspection during “reasonable business hours.”
Our historical review of driver‘s license records does not support a conclusion that DOL licensing records constitute “private affairs.” However, the question of whether an interest is accorded privacy protection under
Although the question of whether a driver‘s license record falls within the ambit of the protection of a “private affair” has not been decided, the defendants cite the recent decision in In re Maxfield as being analogous. In re Maxfield, 133 Wash.2d 332, 945 P.2d 196. There the court split on whether citizens have a privacy interest in the information contained in a public power company‘s customer usage records.
A majority of the justices in Maxfield held there is no protected privacy interest in power records, in part because the information in these records discloses no discrete information about an individual‘s activities. The court observed that, unlike telephone records or curbside garbage, the information kept by electrical power providers did not disclose intimate details of the Maxfields’ lives, or the identity of their friends or political and business associates. Id. at 354, 945 P.2d 196. Accordingly, a majority of the court agreed that power consumption information is not a private affair protected under the Washington Constitution. Id. at 354-55, 945 P.2d 196. The lead opinion, concurred in by four justices, disagreed and would have held that a privacy interest exists in power records because power is a necessary component of modern life, and a prerequisite of receiving power is a requirement to disclose one‘s identity and one‘s power usage. Id. at 341, 945 P.2d 196.
Aside from the fact that the lead opinion‘s analysis had the support of only four justices, there is a significant distinction between Maxfield and the present case. In Maxfield, the government sought access to records kept by a public utility for business use, while in this case the government is accessing records kept by a government entity
Next, the defendants cite Young, 123 Wash.2d 173, 867 P.2d 593, as support for a conclusion that DOL records are “private affairs.” They point to this court‘s concern that privacy rights not simply mirror the “current state of the commercial technology industry.” Id. at 182, 867 P.2d 593. In Young, the police used a thermal imaging device that could sense heat sources and usage within a home. The court observed that, generally, what is voluntarily exposed to the public is not considered to be a part of a person‘s private affairs. Id. at 182, 867 P.2d 593. Nevertheless, the court held that the device used by the officers allowed them to see more than was voluntarily exposed. Similarly, the defendants here argue that public exposure of a license plate does not equate to public exposure of driver‘s license records. Simply because the officers have access to databases through computers in their patrol cars, they urge, does not negate citizens’ expectation that their records are private.
As the State points out, however, while it is necessary to display a license plate to drive a motor vehicle in this state, it is not imperative to drive a motor vehicle, especially, as in one of the cases on review here, when a driver‘s license has been suspended (McKinney). Further, although Young emphasized that homeowners did not voluntarily expose the inside of the home, it was the wealth of information available to police by use of the device that made the information part of Young‘s “private affairs.” As noted, the nature and extent of the information police learn about a person‘s personal contacts and associations is a significant factor in a `private affairs’ analysis. Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d at 67, 720 P.2d 808 (police impermissibly learned who a person was contacting by tracking her phone calls). Using the thermal imaging device, police in Young were able to draw specific inferences about the inside of the house, could detect which rooms were being used, may have been able to discern something of the homeowner‘s finances by knowing how many rooms were being heated, could tell how many people were inside, and could ascertain information about activities occurring within the home. Id. at 183-84, 867 P.2d 593. Because the officers could learn so much about citizens and the inside of their homes, use of the device intruded upon protected privacy interests. Here, officers cannot learn about a person‘s activities or draw inferences about a constitutionally protected sphere (e.g., the inside of a person‘s home, as in Young) by accessing DOL records. Rather, the information available from DOL, the names and addresses of registered vehicle owners and license status, is not the personal type of information derived from the device in Young.
Finally, one lower court case has dealt directly with the issue of DOL records. State v. Harlow, 85 WaskApp. 557, 933 P.2d 1076 (1997). In Harlow the Court of Appeals considered whether officers accessing DOL records engaged in an impermissible search. The court found that drivers are presumed to know that driver‘s records are available to police and that it is not reasonable to believe police will not have access to the records. Id.
The defendants contend that Harlow is no longer good authority because it predates Maxfield and because it erroneously analyzed the defendants’ rights to privacy under
Based on the historical treatment of driver‘s license records, the fact that these records reveal little about a person‘s associations, financial dealings, or movements, and the purpose for which the State compiles and maintains these records, we hold that there is no protected privacy interest in the information contained in a DOL driver‘s record under
The Court of Appeals is affirmed.
ALEXANDER, C.J, SMITH, JOHNSON, SANDERS, IRELAND, BRIDGE, OWENS, JJ., concur.
CHAMBERS, J., concurring.
I concur with the result reached by the majority, but write separately to clearly place into context our holding today. Washington residents have a privacy interest in Department of Licensing (DOL) records. Cf.
This court uses a two-pronged analysis when analyzing a claim under
For over a decade, our legislature has recognized an important privacy interest in driver‘s license records. See
Further, the nature and extent of personal information available in the government records is of the type we have protected before. Cf. State v. Myrick, 102 Wash.2d 506, 511, 688 P.2d 151 (1984). This court has always jealously protected the privacy of Washington residents; we have found cognizable privacy interests in curbside garbage and in telephone records. State v. Boland, 115 Wash.2d 571, 578, 800 P.2d 1112 (1990);
The second prong of the