Opinion ID: 2600503
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: City of Auburn v. Kelly

Text: ¶ 12 On November 15, 2002, at approximately 11:30 p.m., a uniformed Auburn Police Officer witnessed Edward Kelly's car fail to yield and nearly collide with another car after entering traffic. The officer pulled in behind Kelly and activated his lights. Kelly continued driving for several blocks and then stopped in the far lane of a busy road. A video camera mounted in the officer's patrol car made an audio and video recording of their conversation. ¶ 13 The officer observed that Kelly had a passenger in his car and requested back-up. After approaching the car, the officer noted that Kelly's eyes were bloodshot and watery. The officer also smelled a strong and obvious odor of intoxicants. The officer asked Kelly if he had been drinking and Kelly replied that he had had a few drinks. The officer asked if Kelly's ability to drive was impaired by the alcohol, and he replied that it was not. Kelly agreed to participate in several field sobriety tests but performed poorly. The officer advised Kelly of his Miranda rights and arrested him for DUI. At the station, the officer read Kelly the implied consent warnings, but Kelly refused to sign them or take a breath test. ¶ 14 At a pretrial hearing in the Auburn Municipal Court, the city stipulated that the officer did not warn Kelly that he was being recorded and that the recording was not admissible. Defense counsel moved to suppress all evidence related to the videotape, including the officer's observations. The municipal court granted the motion, dismissed the evidence, and granted a subsequent motion to dismiss the city's case. The King County Superior Court affirmed the suppression of the evidence and the dismissal of the city's case. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the conversations were not private for purposes of the privacy act. City of Auburn v. Kelly, 127 Wash.App. 54, 61, 111 P.3d 1213 (2005).