Judge Strikes Down State Road Laws
A landmark superior court ruling declares the state's method for seizing private property for public roads unconstitutional, throwing years of county construction projects into legal limbo.
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Judge Lichtenberg of the superior court rendered a decision yesterday in the case of Drummer vs. Johnston, which is of the utmost importance, as it declares the state road law unconstitutional and renders void the proceedings in building all county roads in Washington since it became a state. The suit arose from the establishment of a county road in Maple Valley. George J. Drummer was the petitioner, and an order was made by county commissioners establishing the road over property belonging to William Johnston. Johnston appealed the decision to the superior court on account of irregularities. While Drummer appears as the nominal plaintiff, King County was the real party at interest. After months of deliberation, Judge Lichtenberg ruled that while the commission can establish roads when owners consent, the forced condemnation of private land under the current act violates constitutional protections. He cited California precedents where similar laws were struck down, noting that the power to seize property and the determination of compensation must be handled by the courts, not by commissioners alone.
“The citizen's property is seized without his consent because the state has a special need for it, and not because it is right as between him and the government that he should surrender it.”
This ruling highlights a fundamental tension in Washington's development history: the conflict between municipal expansion and the protection of private land rights. Today, this resonates in ongoing debates over eminent domain, infrastructure expansion, and how much power municipal governments should hold over individual property owners in a rapidly densifying region.
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