In Re Detention of Aston

251 P.3d 917
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 16, 2011
Docket64264-2-I
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 251 P.3d 917 (In Re Detention of Aston) 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 Detention of Aston, 251 P.3d 917 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

251 P.3d 917 (2011)

In re the DETENTION OF James ASTON, Jr., Appellant.

No. 64264-2-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

May 16, 2011.

*919 Jennifer J. Sweigert, Attorney at Law, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

David J.W. Hackett, King Co. Pros. Office, Alison Moore Bogar, King County Prosecutor's Office, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

PUBLISHED IN PART

COX, J.

¶ 1 James Aston, Jr., appeals his civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (SVP). We hold that the State provided sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Aston committed a recent overt act, as defined by RCW 71.09.020(10), and is an SVP. Moreover, a unanimity instruction was not required for the jury to decide that he committed a recent overt act. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial. Likewise, it did not abuse its discretion or violate his right to an impartial jury by setting time limits for voir dire. We affirm.

¶ 2 Aston was convicted of rape of a child in the first degree in 1999. He was released to community custody in January 2006.

¶ 3 During his release, Aston exhibited a number of behaviors on which the State later relied to support its claim that he is an SVP. Among these behaviors was Aston's statement to his Community Custody Officer (CCO) that he would reoffend if given the opportunity. He wrote out fantasies about children that he used for masturbation before destroying the writings. He also used movies about children for sexual arousal.

¶ 4 Following Aston's last arrest by his CCO for violating conditions of his release, the State commenced this proceeding. The trial court found probable cause to believe that Aston was an SVP and directed further evaluations of him while he was confined awaiting trial. A unanimous jury found that Aston is an SVP. The trial court ordered his involuntary commitment.

¶ 5 Aston appeals.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

¶ 6 Aston argues that the State presented insufficient evidence to prove that he committed a recent overt act. We disagree.

¶ 7 The State may involuntarily commit an individual to a secure treatment facility if the jury finds he is an SVP.[1] RCW 71.09.020(18) defines an SVP as:

any person who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility.

¶ 8 If the person is living in the community after release from custody at the time the petition for involuntary commitment is filed, the State must also prove that the person committed a recent overt act.[2] A "recent overt act" is currently defined as:

any act, threat, or combination thereof that has either caused harm of a sexually violent nature or creates a reasonable apprehension of such harm in the mind of an objective person who knows of the history and mental condition of the person engaging in the act or behaviors.[[3]]

"The basis for involuntary civil commitment is the person's dangerousness."[4] Proof that a person committed a recent overt act is necessary to establish the respondent's current dangerousness.[5]

¶ 9 The State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt both that the person is an SVP and, when applicable, that the person committed a recent overt act.[6]

*920 ¶ 10 To determine whether the jury's verdict in an SVP case was based on sufficient evidence, we must determine whether the evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the State, is sufficient to persuade a fair minded rational person that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the respondent is a sexually violent predator.[7] There is substantial evidence if a rational trier of fact could have found each means of fulfilling the SVP requirements was proved beyond a reasonable doubt.[8]

¶ 11 Here, Aston does not contest that he was convicted of first degree rape of a child in 1999. As a crime of sexual violence, that conviction satisfies the first element of the SVP definition. Likewise, he does not dispute the sufficiency of the evidence that he "either suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes [him] likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility." This is the second element that the State must prove. The question is whether the State carried its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed a "recent overt act," as defined by the statute.

¶ 12 At trial, CCO Patrick Austin testified that he supervised Aston from October to December 2006. He described his meeting with Aston on November 9, 2006:

[Prosecutor]: So, after November 6th, did you see him again on November 9th?
[Austin]: I did see him on November 9th.
[Prosecutor]: And did [Aston]—do you recall him talking about fantasies on November 9th?
[Austin]: Yes. He told me that he—I believe he brought some fantasies in, and talked to me about them. We also went over him rewriting fantasies and that he would destroy them.
[Prosecutor]: Do you recall if he brought you in some stories at that time?
[Austin]: I believe he did.
[Prosecutor]: Did he hand them directly to you?
[Austin]: I believe he did.
[Prosecutor]: Did Mr. Aston say anything to you on November 9th, 2006[,] that caused you concern?
[Austin]: Yes.
[Prosecutor]: What did he say?
[Austin]: He said that if he was given the opportunity to reoffend, he would.
[Prosecutor]: All right. And why did that cause you concern?
[Austin]: I believed him. I was concerned for the community.[[9]]

¶ 13 Aston also reported to CCO Austin that he was writing sexual and deviant fantasies about children:

[Prosecutor]: Okay. Did Mr. Aston report to you he was having deviant fantasies?
[Austin]: He did. He—we had discussions about it, due to the fact that I already knew previously that he was having these issues. And at one point he came into the office in October and informed me that he was concerned about taking a polygraph. And I—kind of just went through and discussed what was going on with him. And he said he was writing stories about children, sexual deviant fantasies about children and mutilating them.[[10]]

¶ 14 CCO Austin further testified to Aston's use of movies for sexual purposes. He testified as follows:

[Prosecutor]: Tell us about the possession of the child pornography. What was— what was the—what did Mr. Aston tell you that he had possessed?
[Austin]: He had possessed certain movies and was fantasizing about children in the movies.
[Prosecutor]: Which movies?
[Austin]: One was Hers, Mine, and Ours.
[Prosecutor]: Yours, Mine, and Ours?
*921

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Bluebook (online)
251 P.3d 917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-detention-of-aston-washctapp-2011.