Kennewick man’s effort to suppress breath test goes to the Washington State Supreme Court

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that drivers must use their turn signal every time they turn or change lanes on a roadway in a case that started with a Kennewick man’s 2015 DUI arrest.

The court’s Thursday ruling reverses a lower court ruling that found that signals are only required only when public safety is a concern.

The high court ruled that the language of the law requires drivers “to ensure turns and lane changes are done safely and with an appropriate turn signal."

The original case stemmed from the March 2015 arrest of David Brown, who was initially stopped in March 2015 by Washington State Patrol officers for briefly turning on his left turn signal while approaching a light in a designated left turn lane. Brown allegedly turned off the turn signal and did not reactivate it while at the light or making the turn.

While he was stopped for the turn signal infraction, he was arrested after a breath test showed .26 breath alcohol content, more than triple the legal limit.

Brown argued that the breath test should not be allowed as evidence because there was no legitimate cause for the initial traffic stop.

A lower court agreed and dismissed the case.

The only issue before the Supreme Court was whether Brown violated traffic laws.

The case now goes back to the lower courts to proceed with the high court's guidance on the initial stop.