Opinion ID: 779515
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: State Substantive Due Process

Text: 19 Under Washington law, courts consider six factors in determining the propriety of independent examination of a constitutional claim under the Washington Constitution. 7 State v. Gunwall, 106 Wash.2d 54, 720 P.2d 808 (1986). The question presented is whether, in applying those factors, we find it appropriate to conduct an independent analysis of plaintiff's substantive due process claims under Washington law. 20 We agree with the district court that three recent decisions by Washington courts answer the precise question before us. State v. Manussier, 129 Wash.2d 652, 921 P.2d 473, 486 (1996) (Washington Supreme Court declining to make independent inquiry into allegation of state substantive due process violation, since, inter alia, [t]he Gunwall factors do not favor an independent inquiry under [the Washington Constitution] .... [where] [f]actors (1) and (2) indicate co-extensive state and federal protections, inasmuch as the text of Const. art. I, § 3 and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution are identical.... [and][f]actors (3) and (4) similarly indicate no broader protection under the state constitution since this court traditionally has practiced great restraint in expanding state due process beyond federal perimeters.) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted); State v. Burton, 92 Wash.App. 114, 960 P.2d 480, 482 (1998) (noting that [t]he Washington Supreme Court has already established that substantive and procedural due process protections provided by [the Washington Constitution] are not broader than those provided by parallel federal constitutional provisions.); City of Seattle v. McConahy, 86 Wash.App. 557, 937 P.2d 1133, 1138 (1997) (rejecting argument to apply a more protective approach [to due process] under the state constitution.... [where] the [Washington] Supreme Court has held that they are to be interpreted the same way.). These decisions make clear that an independent due process analysis is not called for in this case. 21 We agree with the district court that the Washington Constitution is no more solicitous of substantive due process concerns than is the federal constitution. Thus, Esplanade's state due process claim fails as well.