Martinez v. Department of Licensing

The Department of Licensing appeals the Superior Court's dismissal of its action to revoke a driver's license. The Superior Court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, holding that actual receipt of the "sworn report" specified in RCW 46.20.308(6) was a jurisdictional prerequisite to a license revocation, and that the Department had failed to prove actual receipt of the sworn report. We reverse.

This case began in 1987, when 17-year-old Marcello Frank Martinez was stopped on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The arresting officer, Jeff Gillespie, twice read Mr. Martinez the…