Opinion ID: 1349440
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: direct review

Text: RCW 29.79.060 states that the superior court's decision on review of the Attorney General's ballot title shall be final. We have not previously addressed whether the statutory language precludes appellate review. However, a similar issue was decided in Hatfield v. Greco, 87 Wn.2d 780, 557 P.2d 340 (1976). Hatfield involved an action under RCW 29.04.030 to challenge the right of the respondent to be a candidate for county commissioner. The statute provides that any challenge to a candidate shall be heard and finally disposed of by the [superior] court within 5 days after the challenge was filed. This court interpreted this language to mean that no appeal is available. Such a construction, the court concluded, was consistent with the purpose of the statute to obtain a speedy determination of election disputes and with the rule that procedures prescribed for purely statutory remedies must be strictly construed. 87 Wn.2d at 782. [4, 5] The same considerations are important in this case. As the trial court stated, the public interest is served by finality in this matter. The election campaign was already under way. Finality aids both the strategists running the campaigns and those preparing the voters' pamphlets. The short time periods allowed by RCW 29.79.040-.060 emphasize the significance of time. As mentioned earlier, the Attorney General has 7 days to prepare and file the ballot title; challengers have 5 days to appeal; and the superior court has 5 days to review the challenge. In addition, rules of statutory construction support finding the Superior Court's determination not reviewable. The initiative statute expressly permits review of other types of superior court decisions by writ of certiorari to this court. RCW 29.79.170, .210. [3] Express mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another; therefore, we can infer an intent to preclude review of ballot title decisions. See Bradley v. Department of Labor & Indus., 52 Wn.2d 780, 784, 329 P.2d 196 (1958); 2A C. Sands, Statutory Construction § 47.23 (4th ed. 1973). Prior case law does not require a contrary result. In State ex rel. Seymour v. Superior Court, 168 Wash. 361, 12 P.2d 394 (1932), the court reviewed and upheld the Attorney General's ballot title determination. Although Seymour predates RCW 29.79.060, the previous statute also stated that the superior court's decision is final. Laws of 1913, ch. 138, § 3. However, in Seymour, the court explicitly stated that it assumed it had jurisdiction and did not decide the jurisdictional issue. 168 Wash. at 363. Similarly, in In re Ballot Title for Initiative 333, 88 Wn.2d 192, 558 P.2d 248, 559 P.2d 562 (1977), the court accepted review but did not reach the merits of the ballot title. Instead, the court confined its review to the constitutionality of former RCW 29.79.060, which permitted only the initiative sponsor to challenge the Attorney General's ballot title. Finding the statute unconstitutional, the court reversed the trial court's dismissal of the opponents' challenge petition and remanded the case for a decision on the merits. The present case is easily distinguishable because it involves no constitutional issue. Nonetheless, the court's constitutional power of review cannot be abridged by legislative enactment. State ex rel. Cosmopolis Consol. Sch. Dist. 99 v. Bruno, 59 Wn.2d 366, 369, 367 P.2d 995 (1962). This court has the constitutional power to issue writs of mandamus, review, prohibition, habeas corpus, certiorari and all other writs necessary and proper to the complete exercise of its appellate and revisory jurisdiction. In addition, the court has appellate jurisdiction in all actions and proceedings. Const. art. 4, § 4. With respect to appeals, as distinguished from writs, however, Const. art. 4, § 4 is not self-executing but `receives its vitality from legislative enactment.' Bishop v. Illman, 9 Wn.2d 360, 361, 115 P.2d 151 (1941), quoting Robison v. LaForge, 170 Wash. 678, 17 P.2d 843 (1932). Thus, there is no statutory right to appeal from a ballot title decision.