State v. Van Vlack

Citations

• 101 Wash. 503
• 172 P. 563
• 1918 Wash. LEXIS 855

Syllabus

<p>Fish—Clams—Closed Season—Statutes — Construction—“Tide Lands.” Rem. Code, § 5150-100, making it unlawful to take clams from any of the “tide lands” on Puget Sound for the purpose of sale or canning during the closed season, applies to all lands which in their natural state are affected by the ebb and flow of the tide, regardless of whether the title has passed from the state.</p> <p>Same — Clams — Private Ownership. Clams, because of their' fixed habitation in the soil, become the subject of private ownership when the title to clam beds passes from the state.</p> <p>Evidence—Judicial Notice—Natural Laws. The courts may take judicial notice of the scientific facts and well known natural laws respecting the spawning season and propagation of clams.</p> <p>Constitutional Law — Police Power — Conservation op Food Supply—Taking Property Without Due Process op Law—Closed Season por Clams. Rem. Code, § 5150-100, making it unlawful to take clams from any of the “tide lands” on Puget Sound for the purpose of sale or canning, between the first days of April and September of each year, is a lawful exercise of the police power in promoting the general welfare by conserving and increasing the food supply; since the state, although divested of its ownership of clams on tide lands privately owned, has power to regulate the industry for the general good and restrict the owner’s use and enjoyment of property, which the statute neither takes nor destroys without due process of law.</p>