Court Opinion

ID: 9822460
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 09:06:16.052886+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:39:06.616680
License: Public Domain

Fearing, J.
¶24 (concurring) — I concur in the majority’s ruling. I write separately not because I disagree with the majority on any of its analysis, but because I disagree with the Supreme Court’s distortion of the term “manifest” in the context of RAP 2.5(a)’s standard of “manifest constitutional error.” The majority correctly notes that our state high court has declared “manifest” to be “prejudicial.” State v. O’Hara, 167 Wn.2d 91, 99-100, 217 P.3d 756 (2009). Use of the word “prejudicial” to denote “manifest” alters the latter term.
¶25 When interpreting court rules, the court approaches the rules as though they had been drafted by the legislature. State v. McIntyre, 92 Wn.2d 620, 622, 600 P.2d 1009 *145(1979). Generally, we apply rules of statutory construction when interpreting court rules. State v. Blilie, 132 Wn.2d 484, 492, 939 P.2d 691 (1997); WESCO Distrib., Inc. v. M.A. Mortenson Co., 88 Wn. App. 712, 715, 946 P.2d 413 (1997). If the court rule does not define a term, we determine the plain and ordinary meaning from a standard dictionary. State v. Taylor, 150 Wn.2d 599, 602, 80 P.3d 605 (2003); State v. Watson, 146 Wn.2d 947, 954, 51 P.3d 66 (2002); State v. Mankin, 158 Wn. App. 111, 122, 241 P.3d 421 (2010). Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1375 (1993) defines “manifest” as:
1 a : capable of being readily and instantly perceived by the senses and especially] by the sight: not hidden or concealed : open to view . . . b : capable of being easily understood or recognized at once by the mind : not obscure : obvious . . . c : being the part or aspect of a phenomenon that is directly observable : concretely expressed in behavior : overt . . . 2 . . . : bearing evident marks or signs.
¶26 Roget’s International Thesaurus 254 (5th ed. 1992) (category 348.8) lists several synonyms for the adjective form of manifestation: apparent, evident, self-evident, axiomatic, indisputable, obvious, plain, clear, perspicuous, distinct, palpable, patent, tangible, visible, perceptible, perceivable, discernible, seeable, observable, noticeable, much in evidence, to be seen, easy to be seen, plain to be seen, plain as day, plain as the nose on one’s face, plain as a pikestaff, big as life, big as life and twice as ugly, crystal-clear, clear as crystal, express, explicit, unmistakable, not to be mistaken, open-and-shut, self-explanatory, self-explaining, and indubitable. Synonymous words found for “manifest” in my Microsoft Word program include obvious, patent, apparent, evident, clear, visible, marked, noticeable, discern-able, plain, observable, unmistakable, and distinct. Neither the dictionary nor the thesaurus employs the word “prejudicial” or another word similar in meaning to “prejudicial.”
¶27 We note that Black’s Law Dictionary also distorts the definition of “manifest constitutional error.” The legal *146dictionary demarcates the phrase as “[a]n error by the trial court that has an identifiably negative impact on the trial to such a degree that the constitutional rights of a party are compromised.” Black’s Law Dictionary 660 (10th ed. 2014). Nevertheless, rules of construction direct us to employ a lay dictionary, not lawyers’ argot.
¶28 We remain bound by the Supreme Court’s construction of “manifest.” Once a court rule has been construed by the Supreme Court, the construction operates as if it were originally written into the rule. In re Pers. Restraint of Moore, 116 Wn.2d 30, 37, 803 P.2d 300 (1991); State v. Darden, 99 Wn.2d 675, 679, 663 P.2d 1352 (1983).