State v Catlett :: 133 Wn2d 355
Category: Due Process
Judicial Forum continues to hold that a forfeiture of property which was not gained through the commission of a crime is punishment, and that subsequent criminal prosecution for the same facts constitutes double jeopardy. We do not favor the twisting of the Constitution to get “tougher on criminals.”
Justice Talmadge wrote the majority opinion. He writes, “After United States v Ursery [cite omitted], the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not bar such prosecution.” [at 357]. His assertion makes one wonder who wrote the Constitution and whether it is still being written. Actually, he clearly argues that the Constitution is what the judges decide and that supercedes the plain wording.
He also writes, “Catlett’s case has been overtaken by events. The case law that won the day for Catlett below has been superseded by more recent federal precedent.” [at 369]. In arguing the State Constitution (art. 1 § 9), he simply states, at both locations, that the judges hold that forfeiture and subsequent prosecution for the same crime are not barred.
Justice Sanders wrote the dissent to this opinion. His detractors have already used this case to label him soft on crime. The fact of the matter is that Justice Sanders is strong on the Constitution. He opens his opinion with, “Has ‘Catlett’s case . . . been overtaken by events’ or has the [C]onstitution been overtaken by the majority?
“I find the latter more probable since article 1, section 9 of the Washington Constitution is the same today, word for word, as on the date of its popular ratification -- October 1, 1889 -- and the Fifth Amendment is identical to the text proposed by Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1791. Members of the court may change, but the organic constitutional documents and the principles they embody do not.”
Justices Johnson, Madsen and Alexander stood with Sanders to defend the Constitution.
Rating the Usual Suspects:
| pass | Alexander, Gerry | |
| pass | Donohue, Michael E | |
| pass | Dorn, Charles | |
| pass | Johnson, Charles | |
| pass | Madsen, Barbara | |
| pass | O'Brien, Brian | |
| pass | Sanders, Richard | |
| pass | Schultheis, John | |
| pass | Sweeney, Dennis | |
| pass | Thompson, Philip | |
| fail | Caruso, Frederick | |
| fail | Dolliver, James | |
| fail | Durham, Barbara | |
| fail | Gregoire, Christine | |
| fail | Guy, Richard | |
| fail | Smith, Charles | |
| fail | Steinmetz, Larry | |
| fail | Sweetser, James | |
| fail | Talmadge, Phil |