Washington DUI Blog

Recently the Washington State Supreme Court answered this hypothetical question in State v. King. In State v. King the Washington State Supreme Court framed the issue as follows:

We must decide whether a police officer had the authority to arrest a motorcyclist for reckless driving outside the officer’s jurisdiction…….

The facts in State v. King were as follows:

Tyler Sherwood King was riding his motorcycle southbound on Interstate 5 (I-5), north of the Vancouver, Washington, city limits when Vancouver police officer Jeff Starks spotted him. Starks was on his way to work, driving an unmarked police car outside his department’s jurisdiction. According to the officer, King stood on his motorcycle’s foot pegs for three to four seconds while driving at about 70 m.p.h., looked at a nearby car, changed lanes, and then accelerated away at a high rate of speed. Starks pulled King over and issued him a criminal citation for reckless driving under RCW 46.61.500. King moved to dismiss, arguing Starks arrested him outside his department’s boundaries without a valid interlocal agreement allowing him to do so. But the district court upheld the arrest, ruling Starks had the authority to cite King under the emergency exception contained in RCW 10.93.070(2), involving “an immediate threat to human life or property.” The jury convicted King, and the superior court affirmed on appeal.

The Supreme Court reversed King’s conviction for reckless driving because the police officer lacked jurisdiction to make the arrest since the officer was outside of his jurisdiction and King’s actions did not fall within the emergency exception of RCW 10.93.070(2).

If you have been arrested and charged with Reckless Driving, DUI or any other driving related offense and the arresting officer was outside of his jurisdiction then this Washington State Supreme Court decision may help you in your defense.

In a nutshell, police officers have legal authority to enforce the laws. However, most of the time they are prohibited from acting outside of their jurisdictions. If this has happened to you then you should consult with an attorney about the facts of your case.

To learn more about the implications of a Washington state criminal traffic conviction contact the Seattle DUI Lawyers at Fox Bowman Duarte for a free legal consultation.