City of Redmond v. Moore

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court, sitting en banc, affirmed district court orders dismissing driving-while-license-suspended charges against Dean Moore and Jason Wilson, holding that RCW 46.20.289 and RCW 46.20.324(1) violate procedural due process because they mandate license suspension for failure to appear, pay, or comply with a traffic infraction without affording any administrative hearing before or after the suspension. Applying the three-factor Eldridge balancing test, the court found the drivers' substantial property interest in their licenses and the substantial risk of ministerial error—illustrated by misidentifications and months-long erroneous suspensions—outweighed the State's administrative burden, particularly because chapter 46.20 RCW, unlike the schemes upheld elsewhere, provides no post-suspension hearing or guaranteed stay. Because a driver cannot be convicted of driving while license suspended where the suspension violates due process, dismissal was proper. Justice Bridge, joined by Justices Owens, Fairhurst, and Ireland, dissented, arguing the statutes satisfy due process and that the challenge was properly as-applied rather than facial.