Opinion ID: 2632445
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Requesting identification from passenger

Text: ¶ 90 Lastly, Gonzales' claims that his attorney should have moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the vehicle search because, in violation of Rankin, Officer Black improperly requested his identification as a vehicle passenger. The State does not respond substantively to the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, but argues that Officer Black had a valid investigative purpose for asking for Gonzales' identification because he had observed Gonzales driving the vehicle earlier when he noticed the cracked windshield. ¶ 91 Gonzales misapplies our decision in Rankin. In that case, law enforcement officers had not observed the passengers doing anything to invite the officers' suspicion. Rankin, 151 Wash.2d at 692-93, 92 P.3d 202. Here, Officer Black observed Gonzales driving the vehicle with a cracked windshield. When he checked the vehicle registration, he found that the registration had expired. Although Gonzales was no longer driving the vehicle when Officer Black stopped it, Gonzales had been driving the vehicle at the time Officer Black observed the infractions. In other words, Officer Black remained justified in asking for Gonzales' identification even though Gonzales was no longer driving the vehicle. ¶ 92 We conclude there is no reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceeding would have been different even if Gonzales' attorney had objected to admission of the evidence obtained from the vehicle search based on Officer Black's request for Gonzales' identification.