In Re Detention of Bergen

195 P.3d 529
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 24, 2008
Docket59167-3-I
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 195 P.3d 529 (In Re Detention of Bergen) 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 Bergen, 195 P.3d 529 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

195 P.3d 529 (2008)

In the Matter of the DETENTION OF Robert BERGEN.
State of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Robert Bergen, Appellant.

No. 59167-3-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

July 7, 2008.
Publication Ordered September 24, 2008.

*531 Susan F. Wilk, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Joshua Choate, Office of the Washington State Attorney, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

AGID, J.

¶ 1 Robert Bergen appeals the trial court's order denying him a less restrictive alternative (LRA) placement as a sexually violent predator (SVP). Bergen contends that by allowing the State to defeat a proposed LRA by showing that it is not in his "best interests," RCW 71.09.090 violates his right to due process because it is not narrowly tailored to justify commitment of violent sex offenders. He also challenges as unconstitutionally vague the statutory requirements that an LRA be in the SVP's "best interests" and "adequately protect the community." He contends the trial court erred by failing to give the jury his proposed instruction defining "adequate community safety." Finally, he asserts the trial court erred by allowing testimony that he participated in annual reviews because it encouraged the jury to speculate that the previous reviews did not support conditional release. We hold the statute does not deny Bergen's right to due process and is not unconstitutionally vague. The stated legislative intent of the SVP statute indicates that the "best interests" standard applies to the mental health treatment needs of a violent sex offender, a standard which must be met to justify release to an LRA. And the terms "best interests" and "adequate community safety" can be understood by persons of common intelligence and reasonably applied within the statute's intent. Finally, evidence of Bergen's annual reviews was relevant foundation evidence. We therefore affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2 On November 2, 2001, Robert Bergen was found to be a sexually violent predator (SVP) and ordered committed to the Special Commitment Center (SCC). He was 74 years old at the time and was anticipating release on a 1997 conviction for communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Bergen's sex offense history spans 50 years, from 1947 through 1997, and includes convictions *532 for indecent liberties, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, second degree assault, and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, all of which involved minors, both male and female. The most recent offense occurred at his home, approximately 150 feet from an elementary school. At that time, witnesses reported Bergen talked to children passing by his home and parked his car by the school to offer to fix children's bicycles.

¶ 3 In 2005, Bergen retained an independent forensic psychologist, Dr. Robert Prentky, to evaluate a plan for conditional release to an LRA placement. Based on the results of this evaluation, Bergen petitioned for an LRA under RCW 71.09.090. In support of the petition, Dr. Prentky advised that given Bergen's advanced age, an LRA would be in his best interest and the proposed plan would adequately protect the community. On April 27, 2006, the trial court entered an order finding cause to schedule a jury trial to determine whether Bergen should be granted conditional release to an LRA.

¶ 4 At trial, Bergen presented his proposed conditional release plan, which returned him to the home where he committed the most recent offense. He proposed to reside there with his wife, follow the conditions of his sentence imposed on the 1997 conviction, and attend sex offender treatment. His plan also provided that he would register as a sex offender, agree to Global Positioning System (GPS) surveillance, not drive, not use the internet, and comply with all conditions imposed by his supervising corrections officer.

¶ 5 Prentky also testified and opined that the release plan served Bergen's best interests because it would allow him to live out the remainder of his life with his wife under less restrictive circumstances. He also described the plan as "close to water tight" and testified that it would provide more than adequate community safety. Prentky did not interview Bergen, but testified that personal contact with Bergen was unnecessary because he was asked to address the "fairly narrow question" of whether the LRA was appropriate.

¶ 6 The State presented testimony from Dr. Paul Spizman, who conducted three statutorily required annual review evaluations[1] of Bergen. Spizman interviewed Bergen, his wife, his nurse practitioner, and his proposed treatment provider. Spizman opined that Bergen suffers from pedophilia and antisocial personality disorder and that he would continue to be a high risk to reoffend if released under the proposed LRA.

¶ 7 Dr. Jonathon Allison, a forensic evaluator at the SCC, also testified for the State about an interview he conducted with Bergen in 2006 during an annual review. During that interview, Bergen said that he refused to participate in treatment at the SCC and that treatment was an indication of weakness. He also told Allison that he never hurt anyone "except to knock them unconscious," described how he could do that with a "choke hold," and said that his hand "was classified as a lethal weapon." He denied the 1996 offense and said that if he was in a car and saw the victim, he would press his foot on the accelerator. He also told Allison: "`I would have been better off if I had killed the boy in my residence. My only mistake was to let him go.'"

¶ 8 The State also called Randy Green, the treatment provider Bergen suggested in his release plan. Green testified that he interviewed Bergen in December 2005 and that he was willing to treat Bergen if he was conditionally released. He also testified that the LRA was "as good as it's going to get," but that he had concerns about it. He questioned the effectiveness of GPS surveillance to prevent offenses of the type Bergen most recently committed and the appropriateness of his wife as a chaperone given her age and denial of his history. He also noted Bergen's history of denial and remorselessness. He further testified that given Bergen's past treatment failures, it was unlikely that the proposed treatment would have a positive effect on him.

¶ 9 Additional witnesses for the State included Randall Griffith, Bergen's nurse practitioner at the SCC; Joseph Beard, a detective who oversees and conducts registration *533 of sex offenders in Snohomish County; and Tela Wilson, a community corrections officer. Griffith testified that aside from mild arthritis, Bergen was "very fit for his age," and "very mobile." Beard testified that the Department of Corrections asked him to investigate Bergen's proposed LRA, including the proposed release address. He said a day care, elementary school, soccer field, and parks were in close proximity to Bergen's home, and school bus stops were visible from his home. Wilson testified that GPS surveillance monitors whether an offender is within 75 to 200 feet of the home and alerts a corrections officer once the offender leaves that vicinity.

¶ 10 The trial court instructed the jury that the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bergen's proposed LRA was not in his best interests or did not include conditions that would adequately protect the community.[2]

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195 P.3d 529, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-detention-of-bergen-washctapp-2008.