In Re Albrecht

51 P.3d 73
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 1, 2002
Docket71214-0
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 51 P.3d 73 (In Re Albrecht) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Albrecht, 51 P.3d 73 (Wash. 2002).

Opinion

51 P.3d 73 (2002)
147 Wash.2d 1

In re the Detention of Robin G. ALBRECHT, Respondent.

No. 71214-0.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued January 15, 2002.
Decided August 1, 2002.

*74 Christine Gregoire, Attorney General, Todd Bowers, Assistant Attorney General, for Petitioner.

Susan Gasch, Spokane, for Respondent.

CHAMBERS, J.

We are asked to determine whether the State must allege a recent overt act in order to commit an offender as a sexually violent predator when the offender has been released from total confinement into the community and then returned to total confinement. We conclude that after a person has been released into the community, due process would be subverted by failing to require proof of a recent overt act.

FACTS

Robin G. Albrecht has a long history of sexual offenses, including two that were classified as sexually violent offenses.[1] In 1976, he pleaded guilty to one count of indecent liberties following incidents where he sexually assaulted three children after befriending *75 their family and luring the children into his apartment. The court deferred sentencing and committed Albrecht for evaluation as a sexual psychopath. Then in 1992, Albrecht entered a guilty plea to second degree child molestation after fondling the genitals of a six-year-old girl he was babysitting. Albrecht was sentenced to 48 months of confinement followed by a period of community supervision, with credit for 197 days served. On July 22, 1996, after serving the 48 months, he was released to community placement.[2]

Community placement was part of the sentence for the 1992 offense, and the terms of the original sentencing order included avoiding any contact with the victim, obtaining prior approval of residence locations and living arrangements, and participation in sexual deviance treatment and mental health counseling. The order also stated, "[y]ou shall not have direct or indirect contact with ... minor children" and "[y]ou shall comply with any crime related prohibitions as follows: Not to go to parks, playgrounds or any other area designed primarily for children."[3]

Thirty days after release from prison, on August 20, 1996, Albrecht was arrested for violating the conditions of his community placement by allegedly offering two boys 50 cents to follow him. The boys, who recognized Albrecht from the community notification flyer at their apartment complex, fled from him and notified the apartment manager, who called the police.

In September 1996, the Department of Corrections referred Albrecht for potential civil commitment as a sexually violent predator. Apparently unaware that the State was considering filing a sexual predator petition, Albrecht entered into plea negotiations with the State and accepted a 120-day sentence in jail. The record does not indicate which of the terms and conditions of release he violated, but "direct or indirect contact with ... minor children" would justify the violation. Albrecht, still unaware of the planned sexually violent predator petition, stipulated to the terms of a proposed order and waived the right to a full hearing. In October 1996, the court signed the "order modifying community supervision," which imposed 120 days in jail for the violation, with credit for time served since August 20, 1996. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 28.

On November 7, 1996, while Albrecht was still in jail for the community placement violation, the State filed a petition to determine the existence of probable cause that Albrecht was a sexually violent predator, alleging that the August 1996 incident with the two boys at the apartment complex constituted a "recent overt act." CP at 1-2. The psychologist retained by the State opined that to a reasonable psychological certainty, Albrecht met the criteria for sexually violent predator under former RCW 71.09.020(1) (1995).[4] On November 7, 1996, an arrest warrant was signed for Albrecht's continued detention pursuant to former RCW 71.09.040 (1995).[5] Probable cause was found to commit Albrecht as a sexually violent predator.[6] He remained incarcerated.[7]

*76 After defense counsel deposed the two boys involved in the incident, he indicated to the attorney general that the boys' testimony regarding the 1996 incident was inadequate to prove a recent overt act. The State thereafter moved to amend the petition to delete its allegation of a recent overt act. The trial court granted the motion, finding that Albrecht was totally confined when the petition was filed and that the State did not therefore need to prove a recent overt act. The State then filed an amended petition omitting reference to a recent overt act.

In November 1998, Division Three of the Court of Appeals granted Albrecht's motion for interlocutory review to consider (1) whether the State should have been required to prove a recent overt act, and (2) whether the file should be sealed. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals held that the trial court should have required proof of a recent overt act despite the fact that Albrecht was currently in custody on a violation of his conditions of community placement. The State petitioned for review of the recent overt act issue. This Court granted review and remanded to the Court of Appeals in light of In re Detention of Henrickson, 140 Wash.2d 686, 2 P.3d 473 (2000). The Court of Appeals was not persuaded that Henrickson required a different result.

ANALYSIS

In 1990, responding to public outcry against a string of brutal sex crimes by recidivist sex offenders, Washington enacted legislation to allow for indefinite civil detention of offenders deemed "likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence." RCW 71.09.020(1). This statute replaced earlier laws that imposed treatment as an alternative to imprisonment.

"The constitution requires that a person shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." In re Pers. Restraint of Young, 122 Wash.2d 1, 26, 857 P.2d 989 (1993) (quoting U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV; Const. art. I, § 3). A law that impinges on a fundamental right such as freedom from restraint is constitutional only if it furthers a compelling state interest and is narrowly tailored to further that interest. Young, 122 Wash.2d at 26, 857 P.2d 989. A state has a legitimate interest in treating the mentally ill and protecting society from their actions. Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418, 426, 99 S.Ct. 1804, 60 L.Ed.2d 323 (1979). However, a narrowly tailored statute must require that an individual be both mentally ill[8] and dangerous for civil commitment to satisfy due process. Id. at 426, 99 S.Ct. 1804. Accord Foucha v. Louisiana,

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Bluebook (online)
51 P.3d 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-albrecht-wash-2002.