In Re Crace

236 P.3d 914
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJuly 28, 2010
Docket37806-0-II
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 236 P.3d 914 (In Re Crace) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Crace, 236 P.3d 914 (Wash. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

236 P.3d 914 (2010)

In the Matter of the Personal Restraint Petition of Hoyt William CRACE, Petitioner.

No. 37806-0-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

July 28, 2010.

*920 Jeffrey Erwin Ellis, Ellis Holmes & Witchley PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Petitioner.

Kathleen Proctor, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Tacoma, WA, for Respondent.

VAN DEREN, C.J.

¶ 1 Hoyt William Crace was convicted of attempted second degree assault, first degree criminal trespass, and second degree malicious mischief. Crace petitions for a new trial or a reference hearing. Crace argues that his due process rights were violated because the jail compelled him to wear jail-issue sandals at trial. He also contends that his right to a fair trial is called into question because a juror saw him outside the courtroom in jail-issue sandals and restraints before voir dire but the juror did not disclose that fact when asked during voir dire if she knew Crace. Crace further contends that his counsel was ineffective for failing to request the lesser included offense of unlawful display of a weapon and for not objecting to Crace wearing the sandals in court. We grant Crace's timely petition based on ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to request the lesser included instruction and because counsel's deficient representation prejudiced Crace, i.e., there is a reasonable probability that, except for counsel's unprofessional error, the result of the proceeding would have been different. We remand for a new trial on the second degree assault charge.

FACTS

¶ 2 According to Crace, on August 16, 2003, he was repairing a friend's trailer located in the same mobile home park where he resided, when another resident of the trailer park offered Crace approximately one gram of cocaine. Between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM, Crace voluntarily consumed eight to ten alcoholic coolers, one gram of cocaine, two doses of the prescription pain medication Dilaudid, and one quarter piece of heroin. Crace testified that he felt very relaxed and fell asleep or partially overdosed while watching Planet of the Apes.

¶ 3 When he awoke, it was dark outside. Crace testified that he heard and saw things, grew terrified, and became convinced that he was going to be murdered. He ran screaming from his trailer, trying to find the home of two elderly women who lived nearby; instead, he entered Rita Whitten's trailer by mistake. Crace tried to tell Whitten about his fears but, when she kept screaming, he quickly left.

¶ 4 Before Crace's entry, Whitten was in her living room watching television while her baby slept in the bedroom. According to Whitten, Crace burst through the front door, screaming about being pursued. After rifling Whitten's kitchen cabinets and drawers, Crace ran out of her home. According to Crace, he went outside and found the elderly women's trailer and spoke to them, but he did not stay there because he still thought *921 that humans or demons were trying to murder him.

¶ 5 Crace returned to his trailer, took a sword off the wall, and ran down the street screaming for help. Apparently someone contacted the police, because on August 17, 2003, at 2:25 AM, Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Theron Hardesty received a call from dispatch directing him to a possible burglary in progress at a residence in a mobile home park. As Hardesty exited his car, a man approached him and stated that an unknown male had burst into his neighbor's home and then fled. The man said that the unknown male had run about two blocks to the north and that he was armed with a sword.

¶ 6 Hardesty found Crace and when Crace saw Hardesty's flashlight beam, he ran toward the light with his sword in hand. Crace made eye contact with Hardesty and ran full speed toward him. As Crace ran, he yelled, "`They are after me, someone help me.'" Report of Proceedings (RP) at 83.

¶ 7 Hardesty could see a long, metal object in Crace's hand and, as Crace drew closer, Hardesty identified the object as a sword. Hardesty drew his gun and directed Crace to drop the sword.[1] Crace kept running at Hardesty and Hardesty repeated his command to drop the sword. According to Crace, when he realized that an officer held the flashlight, he remained too frightened to drop the sword or to stop. Crace dropped the sword when he was approximately 50 feet from Hardesty but he continued running toward Hardesty. Hardesty repeatedly commanded Crace to get on the ground. According to Crace, he did not obey the direction to lie down on the ground because he was scared and still too far away from the officer. Crace finally complied when he was five to seven feet from Hardesty.

¶ 8 Hardesty handcuffed Crace and placed him in the rear seat of his patrol vehicle. Hardesty then interviewed Whitten. During the interview, Hardesty heard screams from the parking lot and ran out to see Crace kicking wildly in the back of the patrol car; Crace broke out the left rear window. According to Crace, his fears of being murdered persisted and he kicked out the window in the hope that someone would return to the vehicle to help him. Hardesty secured Crace in four point restraints and advised him of his constitutional rights. Crace told Hardesty that earlier in the evening, four or five "guys" assaulted him and that he ran from them in fear. Based on his experience as a law enforcement officer, Hardesty suspected substance abuse and asked Crace if he used drugs. Crace told Hardesty that he had ingested cocaine earlier in the day.

¶ 9 By amended information, the State charged Crace with second degree assault, first degree criminal trespass, and second degree malicious mischief. The State also alleged that Crace was armed with a deadly weapon while committing the assault. The trial court ordered Crace to undergo an evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial and potential defenses based on his mental condition.[2]

*922 ¶ 10 When the police booked Crace into jail, he wore no shoes; "the clothes listed at the time of booking were a red sweatshirt and a pair of black shorts." Br. of Resp't, App. E at 2. Clothing "brought in for trial included a pair of tan pants, a green shirt and a blue/black tie," but there were no shoes, and, according to the jail's "records, it would appear that Mr. Crace did not have a pair of civilian shoes to wear at the time of his trial." Br. of Resp't, App. E at 2. According to Crace, the jail officer told him that he "had to wear the jail-issue, orange sandals." Personal Restraint Petition (PRP), App. J. During transport, Crace wore shackles on his legs and ankles, which were removed when he arrived at court each day.

¶ 11 At the beginning of voir dire, the court asked the venire panel, "Do any of you know Mr. Crace? Have any of you heard anything about this particular case by potentially hearing potential witnesses talk about it, or other folks that may be involved in the case having any kind of discussion?" PRP, App. H at 6. No panel member responded. Linda Hoerling, an individual eventually seated as a juror, declared later that it was "a personal decision" to "not report to the court that [she] had observed Mr. Crace outside of the courtroom prior to trial." PRP, App. I at 1.

¶ 12 During what appears to be a three day trial,[3] Crace wore his jail-issue, orange sandals. According to Crace, "my attorney was aware that I was forced to wear jail-issue sandals to court because I told him and because he saw them on my feet." Surreply Br. of Pet'r at 5. Crace's attorney did not object to the jail-issue sandals.

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Bluebook (online)
236 P.3d 914, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-crace-washctapp-2010.