State Ex Rel. McDonald v. Whatcom County District Court

The sole issue in this case is whether a law enforcement officer who has investigated an accident at the scene thereof may thereafter arrest the driver or one of the drivers involved at a place away from the accident scene. The District Court held the arrest to be illegal and dismissed the charges against defendant (relator herein), the Superior Court modified the dismissal to be without prejudice and affirmed. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment. We also affirm.

The facts are agreed to by the parties. Trooper Ken Knies of the Washington State Patrol investigated a 1-car accident which…