City of Shoreline v. McLemore
City of Shoreline v. McLemore
Opinion of the Court
*226¶ 1 This case involves a clash of deeply significant public policies. As a modem society, we condemn domestic violence and have vested police with the power and duty to investigate and to intervene. As a society governed by our constitutions, there are limits on the State's power to punish speech, to *1162demand an individual's active cooperation, or to intrude into a home.
¶ 2 Our homes hold a special place in our constitutional jurisprudence. It is the first place specifically called out in our constitution, and it is called out to give it special protection. Under our constitution, "[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law." CONST. art. I, § 7 (emphasis added). "In no area is a citizen more entitled to his privacy than in his or her home. For this reason, 'the closer officers come to intrusion into a dwelling, the greater the constitutional protection'." State v. Young,
¶ 3 Here, a bystander called 911 about a loud, late-night argument in a home. Police officers, appropriately concerned about domestic violence, went to that home to investigate. They heard an argument and demanded entry.
*227Solomon McLemore and his girlfriend, Lisa,
FACTS
¶ 4 Late one night, a bystander heard a disturbance and called 911. Three Shoreline police officers responded and heard the sounds of an argument coming from an apartment above a dry cleaner's shop. Police heard a woman shouting, " '[Y]ou can't leave me out here,' " " 'I'm going to call the police,' " and "something along the lines of 'I'm reconsidering our relationship'." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 149. The officers knocked on the door of the apartment, rang the doorbell, announced they were Shoreline police, and demanded to be let in. No one in the apartment replied, but the sounds of the argument stopped. Using amplification and much profanity, the officers insisted they would break down the door if they were not let in. McLemore told them to leave. After several minutes of this, police heard the sound of breaking glass. The officers started to break down the door.
¶ 5 McLemore and Lisa lived together with their six month old son in that apartment. The couple had had a difficult night. McLemore had accidentally broken a window, *228and Lisa was upset about having to repair it. McLemore had told Lisa he would clean up the glass but instead went to play pool with a friend. When he came home at about one o'clock in the morning, he and Lisa argued. Since their child was asleep, they took their argument outside to a balcony. McLemore claimed he accidentally locked Lisa outside on that balcony when he came in. Minutes after he let Lisa back in, the police started banging on their door. McLemore told the officers that they were okay, that he was recording the incident, and that they should leave. At McLemore's insistence, Lisa confirmed that she was fine and that she also wanted the officers to leave. Instead, rightfully concerned about domestic violence, the officers broke down her door.
¶ 6 After the door was "completely destroyed," CP at 152, the officers entered with their guns drawn, handcuffed McLemore, and put Lisa and McLemore into separate police cars. Officers determined Lisa was not *1163injured. Lisa told the officers that the couple had not opened the door because they were afraid one of them would be arrested if they did. Officers arrested McLemore for obstruction of a law enforcement officer under RCW 9A.76.020. No other charges were filed.
¶ 7 Before trial, McLemore moved to dismiss the charge on the grounds the city had offered "no evidence that McLemore willfully hindered or delayed an officer's lawful investigation as the law does not require any duty of a person to act in a warrantless search of their residence." CP at 139. The judge denied the motion, concluding that the charges were sustainable under State v. Steen,
¶ 8 In closing argument, the city stressed that most of the elements were not in dispute. Instead, the "element that gets the bulk of the argument ... and the bulk of the scrutiny in this testimony was did the defendant willfully *229hinder or delay or obstruct the discharge of [officers'] duties." CP at 468. The city characterized McLemore's refusal to open the door as a willful obstruction. Defense counsel argued that "[it is] not McLemore's job to help" the police and that "he did nothing. He simply sat in his house." Id. at 478.
¶ 9 During deliberations, the jury sent out one question: "Does a person have the legal obligation to follow the police instructions, in this case?"Id. at 43. The court responded, "[Y]ou have been provided with the law in this case in the jury instructions." Id. The instructions, including the to-convict instruction, mirrored the pattern jury instructions, and no specific instruction on a citizen's obligation to open a door to a warrantless entry was included. See, e.g., id. at 59; 11A WASHINGTON PRACTICE: WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS: CRIMINAL 120.02, at 519 (4th ed. 2016). McLemore was convicted.
¶ 10 McLemore appealed, first to the superior court, then to the Court of Appeals, and finally here. We granted review. City of Shoreline v. McLemore,
ANALYSIS
¶ 11 We stress that we are not asked to determine whether the officers' forced entry in McLemore's home was lawful. McLemore, wisely, does not challenge the trial court's conclusion that the officers were exercising their community caretaking function at the time. Based on this record, the officers had the lawful power to enter McLemore's home to assess whether domestic violence had occurred and to take appropriate action if it had. See Danny v. Laidlaw Transit Servs., Inc.,
¶ 12 But McLemore was not charged with a crime of domestic violence. Instead, he was charged with violating RCW 9A.76.020(1), which provides in relevant part that "[a] person is guilty of obstructing a law enforcement officer if the person willfully hinders, delays, or obstructs any law enforcement officer in the discharge of his or her official powers or duties." In effect, McLemore contends that this statute cannot be constitutionally applied to his inaction. "We review such constitutional challenges de novo. In the context *1164of the First Amendment, this requires a review of the record to determine that the conviction could not have been based only on constitutionally protected speech." E.J.J.,
¶ 13 This court has long "noted that [obstruction] statutes can 'result in disturbing intrusions into an individual's right to privacy and can implicate other rights specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights.' " State v. Williams,
¶ 14 We use this narrow construction for two reasons. First, we are required to interpret statutes as constitutional, if possible, and our narrowing construction accomplishes this task. See In re Pers. Restraint of Matteson,
¶ 15 Criminalizing the refusal to open one's own door to a warrantless entry would be enormously chilling and inconsistent with our deeply held constitutional values. As the United States Supreme Court observed:
From earliest days, the common law drastically limited the authority of law officers to break the door of a house to effect an arrest. Such action invades the precious interest of privacy summed up in the ancient adage that a man's house is his castle. As early as the 13th Yearbook of Edward IV (1461-1483), at folio 9, there is a recorded holding that it was unlawful for the sheriff to break the doors of a man's house to arrest him in a civil suit in debt or trespass, for the arrest was then only for the private interest of a party. Remarks attributed to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, on the occasion of debate in Parliament on the searches incident to the enforcement of an excise on cider, eloquently expressed the principle:
"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter-all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!"
*232Miller v. United States,
*1165¶ 16 Under the limited construction of the statute required by our constitution, a defendant's conduct that amounts to passive delay will not sustain an obstruction charge.
That E.J.J.'s behavior may have caused a minor delay is of no import. Although the officer's request that E.J.J. return to his *233home and close both doors might have been an attempt for a more convenient resolution of the situation, "[s]tates cannot consistent[ ] with our Constitution abridge those freedoms to obviate slight inconveniences or annoyances."
E.J.J.,
¶ 17 The city analogizes this to cases where officers had a warrant or other court order. But the officers here did not have a warrant or other court order. No impartial magistrate authorized the intrusion. These cases are not helpful to the city. See, e.g., State v. Miller,
¶ 18 In contrast, in the vast majority of cases called to our attention, courts have held that there is no obligation to open a home to an officer's warrantless demand for entry. The city of Columbus, for example, prosecuted a man who refused to open the door to allow officers responding to a potential domestic violence call to enter his home. City of Columbus v. Michel ,
*1166see also Beckom v. State ,
*235Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court, on almost identical facts, unanimously held failure to act was not obstruction. State v. Fede ,
¶ 19 The one exception to these cases brought to our attention by the city is Steen,
¶ 20 But the Steen court relied heavily on case law that involved motor vehicles, not homes. See id. at 800-02,
¶ 21 Not surprisingly, Contreras itself also relied largely on cases involving motor vehicles. See Contreras ,
¶ 22 Location matters. A home is entitled to constitutional protections that a moving vehicle is not. See State v. Ferrier,
¶ 23 Under the limited construction we are required to give the obstruction statute to render it constitutional, the city presented insufficient evidence to sustain this conviction. Taken in the light most favorable to the city, McLemore refused to open the door, loudly insisted he had no obligation to do so, and told Lisa to tell the officers she was okay. None of this is punishable "conduct" under our limiting construction of the obstruction statute. Further, our review of the record leaves us with an abiding concern the jury could have convicted on speech alone.
*1167See E.J.J.,
CONCLUSION
¶ 24 We in the lead opinion would hold the city presented insufficient evidence to sustain McLemore's conviction and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. However, we recognize this opinion has garnered only four signatures. "Therefore, there being no majority for the reversal of the judgment of the trial court, it necessarily stands affirmed, and the order of this court is that the judgment appealed from be and it is hereby affirmed." Peterson v. City of Tacoma ,
WE CONCUR:
Fairhurst, C.J.
Johnson, J.
Gordon McCloud, J.
We use only Lisa's first name to avoid subjecting her to unwanted publicity. No disrespect is intended.
The dissent states that "everyone, including McLemore, agrees that the officers responding to the domestic violence call had the constitutional authority to demand entry pursuant to the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement" and that "McLemore did have a duty to comply with lawful police orders to open the door." Dissent at 1, 8. We respectfully disagree with this characterization of the case. We agree that the officers had the constitutional authority to enter the home pursuant to the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement. We do not agree that McLemore had a duty to comply with the police's demand to open the door.
The dissent claims that "refusal to obey lawful orders of law enforcement has always been deemed sufficient conduct to support an obstruction conviction." Dissent at 11. We have never so held, and, under our limiting construction of the obstruction statute, it cannot be.
Indeed, the jury's question during deliberation, "Does a person have the legal obligation to follow the police instructions, in this case?" touches on this vital principle. CP at 43. We do not fault the judge for not answering it during deliberations. But this case does turn on when a person has a legal obligation to follow an officer's directions.
This, of course, is what distinguishes Dolson's conduct from McLemore's. Dolson shut his gate, locked it, and held it shut to keep out the police. Dolson,
Given our disposition, we do not reach the remaining arguments. We note in passing that it is questionable whether a defendant can appeal the denial of a Knapstad motion after the case has gone to trial. State v. Zakel,
Dissenting Opinion
¶ 25 In asking this court to overturn his conviction, Solomon McLemore appeals broadly to privacy rights, free speech rights, and the fact that individuals owe no duty to assist law enforcement. These appeals obscure the fact that everyone, including McLemore, agrees the officers responding to the domestic violence call had the constitutional authority to demand entry pursuant to the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement. And, settled precedent makes clear that refusing to obey lawful commands to take a specific action is conduct sufficient to support an obstruction conviction. I disagree with the lead opinion that McLemore's conviction rests "mostly" on speech and involves only passive "inaction" while inside his home. Lead opinion at 1162, 1163-64, 1166-67.
*238¶ 26 I would continue our long tradition of holding that individuals cannot willfully disobey law enforcement orders without facing legal consequences. Though no one owes an affirmative obligation to assist the police, obstruction in violation of RCW 9A.76.020 involves more than the mere refusal to assist. On the night in question, McLemore's right to privacy in his home yielded to the officers' authority to demand entry in order to verify the safety of the occupants inside. His obstruction conviction rests not on pure speech or mere inaction but on his willful conduct that hindered, delayed, or obstructed law enforcement in the discharge of their official duties. I would affirm the Court of Appeals and uphold McLemore's conviction.
ANALYSIS
¶ 27 This case arises in the context of officers responding to a late-night domestic disturbance call. Upon arriving outside McLemore's building, officers heard shouting and then the sound of glass breaking. When they loudly knocked on the door, all went silent. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 304, 324, 362, 365. Despite being given several explanations as to why officers were at his door and several chances to comply, McLemore refused to open the door to allow officers to verify the safety of McLemore's girlfriend, Lisa,
[I gave v]ery basic commands, clear and concise. This is Shoreline Police Department, please open the door. Shoreline Police Department, come and talk to us. Shoreline Police Department, let me see your face. Shoreline Police Department, call 911. I want to give as many options as possible. I know some people are antsy about contacting the police face to face so I *1168took that into account. If they wanted to call 911 that was fine. If they *239want to peek over the balcony that was fine too. I just wanted to establish some kind of back and forth and I was getting none.
CP at 364-65. When officers finally did get a response, they once again clearly explained that their intention was to verify the safety of all occupants in the home:
So as we continued kind of in this repetitive loop of conversation, at some point a female comes to the door and he said tell them you're okay. We had been telling him we need to make sure that everyone is okay. We need to know that everyone is okay because of what is going on here. So the female at some point comes to the door and he says, tell them you're okay. The female said I'm okay. A[t] this point they both said something like we're scared or something of that nature. But we tell them, we can't just take your word for it. You telling her to tell us you're okay isn't enough for us to verify that you're okay. He could be forcing you to say this. We have no idea. You're behind a door and we have no idea what's going on. We need to investigate.
CP at 330-31 (Test, of Deputy Jeremy Dallon).
*240They said we're coming in. We need to come in. We need to make sure everybody is okay. And I asked them all the relevant questions as to why-legal entry. Do you have anything to show me that shows me you can come in?
....
... They tell me they don't have to. They don't need to show me anything to get in. And then I tell them, well then in that case you need to go away.
CP at 414. McLemore acknowledged that the officers even gave him the option to call 911 to verify that they were the police. CP at 438; see also CP at 329 ("You can call the police, 911. They'll tell you that we're the police, let us in.") (Test, of Deputy Dallon).
¶ 28 Though the lead opinion describes the issue in this case as whether an individual has the duty to assist a warrantless search or seizure, the officers made no demand to search the home. See CP at 294-381. The record makes clear that the officers wanted to fulfill their statutory duty to verify Lisa's safety as part of their community caretaking responsibility.
¶ 29 McLemore's conduct falls squarely within the ambit of the obstruction statute, and his conviction is fully consistent with constitutional guaranties of privacy and free speech. Because there is no constitutional *1169infirmity in McLemore's conviction, I believe our judicial role requires us to apply the statute the legislature has seen fit to adopt and the executive branch has seen fit to enforce, and to respect the jury's verdict. To explain why, I first address the statute, RCW 9A.76.020, and then consider the privacy and *241free speech rights asserted to excuse McLemore's violation of the statute.
I. Sufficient Evidence Supported the Jury's Finding That McLemore Committed Obstruction under RCW 9A.76.020
¶ 30 The statute under which McLemore was convicted provides, "A person is guilty of obstructing a law enforcement officer if the person willfully hinders, delays, or obstructs any law enforcement officer in the discharge of his or her official powers or duties." RCW 9A.76.020(1). It is undisputed that the officers responding to the 911 call were discharging their official powers or duties. Mot. for Discr. Review at 3; lead opinion at 1163. Absent a constitutional privilege, McLemore had a statutory duty not to willfully hinder, delay, or obstruct law enforcement.
¶ 31 The lead opinion frames this case in terms of a "duty to cooperate" with law enforcement and invokes the general rule that no such duty exists. See lead opinion at 1164-65. In so doing, it characterizes McLemore's conduct as involving only "passive delay" and observes that behavior causing minor delay or inconvenience does not amount to obstruction. Id. at 1164-65 (quoting State v. E.J.J.,
¶ 32 In D.E.D., the Court of Appeals overturned an obstruction conviction because the charged conduct involved only "[p]assive resistance" to an unlawful arrest.
¶ 33 Unlike the juvenile in D.E.D., McLemore did have the duty to comply with lawful police orders to open the door and allow officers to verify Lisa's safety. Describing his refusal to open the door in this context as *1170akin to D.E.D.'s "passive resistance" requires ignoring that McLemore testified he made an intentional-found to be willful-decision to disobey a direct, lawful order. I recognize that it may be difficult in some situations to distinguish between an *243affirmative duty to cooperate and a duty not to hinder or delay police, but this is not one of them.
¶ 34 Indeed, the facts of this case align with the cases the court in D.E.D. was careful to distinguish.
¶ 35 The lead opinion's dismissal of Steen appears to rest solely on the fact that Steen "relied heavily on case law that involved motor vehicles, not homes."
¶ 36 That precedent includes this court's decisions in Williams and Little. See State v. Williams,
¶ 37 The lead opinion attempts to minimize Little as having been decided under a former version of the obstruction statute, which we later declared unconstitutional. Lead opinion at 1166. The aspect of the statute we invalidated, however, involved a requirement that individuals stop and identify themselves when directed by law enforcement. See State v. White,
¶ 38 Sufficient evidence exists to support McLemore's conviction for obstruction based on his willful failure to obey a lawful police order to open the door (or to allow Lisa to open the door) in order for officers to verify the safety of the occupants inside the home. It cannot be denied that McLemore's actions had specific consequences that both hindered and delayed the officers from performing their community caretaking duties. Officers spent several minutes trying to convince McLemore or Lisa to open the door; then, after hearing glass shattering, they attempted unsuccessfully to break the door or lock with a pickax, before finally having the Shoreline Fire Department arrive with breaching tools to help police forcibly enter the home. All essential elements of the obstruction statute are supported by evidence sufficient to sustain McLemore's conviction, and we should not disturb it unless McLemore can demonstrate that his conduct was constitutionally privileged. As discussed below, he has not demonstrated that his conviction violates either his privacy rights or his free speech rights.
*246II. McLemore's Obstruction Conviction Does Not Offend His Privacy Rights under the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 7 Because the Officers Acted with Authority of Law
¶ 39 Article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution provides that "[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law." While the gold standard for authority of law is a judicially issued warrant, "there are a few ' "jealously and carefully drawn" exceptions' to the warrant requirement which 'provide for those cases where the societal costs of obtaining a warrant, such as danger to law officers or the risk of loss or destruction of evidence, outweigh the reasons for prior recourse to a neutral magistrate.' " State v. Houser,
¶ 40 Both McLemore and the lead opinion acknowledge that the officers responding to the 911 call had authority of law under the community caretaking warrant exception. See Mot. for Discr. Review 8-16; lead opinion at 1163 ("McLemore, wisely, does not challenge the trial court's conclusion that the officers were exercising their community caretaking function at the time."). "Police officers responding to a domestic violence report have a duty to ensure the present and continued safety and well-being of *247the occupants" of a home. State v. Raines,
¶ 41 One is left to wonder why, then, the lead opinion embarks on a detailed privacy analysis under the Fourth Amendment of the United States and article I, section 7. Its eloquent exposition of an individual's right to keep the government from crossing the threshold to his home presupposes a different set of facts-officers seeking a warrantless entry without constitutional authority of law. See lead opinion at 1164-65. Here, the officers correctly explained to McLemore that they did not need a warrant to justify the limited intrusion they were seeking. The lead opinion seems to suggest that McLemore's refusal to open the door would be viewed differently had the officers held an actual warrant instead of authority of law under a warrant exception. Lead opinion at 1165. But, it does not explain why. Certainly, from the perspective of a person refusing an officer's command to open a door, there is no reason why the officer's assertion that he has a warrant would be any more persuasive than his assertion that he *248has other authority of law. Moreover, neither the chilling of privacy rights that the lead opinion is concerned about nor the constitutional authority of law the officers possess varies between the warrant scenario and the warrant exception scenario. The case law the lead opinion cites speaks to a privacy right McLemore did not possess here-the right to refuse entry to officers acting entirely without authority of law under either a warrant or a recognized warrant exception.
¶ 42 In attempting to create legal justification for McLemore's actions, the lead opinion misreads Dolson v. United States,
¶ 43 Simply stated, McLemore's conduct cannot be excused on the basis of a nonexistent privacy right. His right to deny the officers entry to his home necessarily yields to valid authority of law, under a warrant exception just as surely as under a warrant. While the lead opinion is correct that McLemore's privacy in his home is entitled to greater constitutional protection than a person's privacy in a vehicle or on the street, the greater weight of the privacy interest has no bearing on the question before us. Heightened privacy protections in the home affect the court's determination as to when authority of law exists to justify *249an intrusion. But regardless of whether individuals are in a home, in a vehicle, or on the street, once they receive a lawful order from law enforcement, they have a statutory duty to comply. Because all parties agree that McLemore received a lawful order from the officers, we cannot excuse his willful refusal to comply with this order simply because it involved opening the door to his home.
III. McLemore's Obstruction Conviction Is Consistent with Free Speech Protections Because It Does Not Rest on "Speech Alone"
¶ 44 Having established that McLemore had no privacy-based right to disobey lawful *1173police commands and that his refusal to open the door is punishable under the obstruction statute, I turn to the remaining proposition: that McLemore's conviction rests purely on speech rather than conduct. To avoid constitutional infirmities, Washington law requires "conduct in addition to pure speech in order to establish obstruction of an officer." Williams ,
¶ 45 Consistent with prior case law, McLemore's actions constituted punishable conduct and his conviction did not rest on "speech alone." E.J.J .,
¶ 46 Without doubt, our precedent confirms that obstruction statutes may be constitutionally applied to punish individuals for willful conduct in refusing to obey law enforcement directives when such conduct hinders, delays, or obstructs the performance of official duties-even when speech is also involved. Such punishment under the obstruction statute is wholly consistent with constitutional constraints because it does not rest on "speech alone." E.J.J.,
CONCLUSION
¶ 47 Thankfully, in this case there was no physical harm to any of the parties involved. But recognizing the sort of *251"privilege to obstruct" that McLemore seeks will encourage individuals to "make their own snap judgments about the legality of official demands," Pryor, 32 F.3d at 1195, and "violence is not only invited but can be expected." Hatton, 116 Ariz. at 148,
Owens, J.
Yu, J.
Wiggins, J.
Consistent with the lead opinion, and to avoid subjecting her to unwanted publicity, I refer to McLemore's girlfriend solely by her first name. No disrespect is intended.
The lead opinion downplays the fact that McLemore told Lisa how to respond, see lead opinion at 1162 ("At McLemore's insistence, Lisa confirmed that she was fine and that she also wanted the officers to leave."), ultimately concluding there is "no evidence" he did anything to prevent her from opening the door.
RCW 10.99.030 imposes specific requirements on law enforcement when responding to a domestic violence report. For example, officers are required to "take a complete offense report including the officer's disposition of the case" and "advise victims of all reasonable means to prevent further abuse, including advising each person of the availability of a shelter or other services in the community, and giving each person immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies available." RCW 10.99.030(6)(b) -(7). The responding officers testified that it would have been difficult to fulfill their statutory duties in this instance without a visual verification of Lisa's safety and the ability to speak with her separate from McLemore. CP at 330-31, 363, 371.
This is not to say that individuals may violate unlawful police commands without legal consequences. The court in D.E.D. surveyed precedent recognizing that a person "cannot respond to police illegality by performing a criminal act in return."
Terry v. Ohio ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.