In Re Detention of Moore

216 P.3d 1015
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 2009
Docket81201-2
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 216 P.3d 1015 (In Re Detention of Moore) 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 Detention of Moore, 216 P.3d 1015 (Wash. 2009).

Opinion

216 P.3d 1015 (2009)

In the Matter of the DETENTION OF Paul MOORE, Petitioner.

No. 81201-2.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 21, 2009.
Decided October 1, 2009.

*1017 Nancy P. Collins, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, WA, for Petitioner.

Sarah Sappington, Todd Richard Bowers, Attorney General's Office, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

FAIRHURST, J.

¶ 1 Paul Moore was civilly committed as a sexually violent predator (SVP) under chapter 71.09 RCW. On review, he argues that the trial court erred in accepting his stipulation to certain facts without conducting an inquiry into Moore's competency, that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for agreeing to a stipulation, and that the State was required to prove Moore would reoffend within the foreseeable future to establish he is currently dangerous. We reject Moore's arguments and affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Prior sexual and criminal history

¶ 2 In 1985, Moore entered a beauty salon carrying a knife and a brown paper bag. Moore ordered the two women in the salon, a worker and her customer, to a backroom. Moore raped the worker. Before leaving, he told the two women not to come out of the room or he would "`burn the place down.'" Clerk's Papers (CP) at 26, 36. When Moore was arrested for the offense, officers found a green bottle filled with gasoline in a paper bag.

¶ 3 Moore was charged with first degree rape with a deadly weapon and first degree robbery. After Moore's competency was questioned, he spent 13 months in Western State Hospital (WSH) until he was deemed competent to stand trial. He subsequently *1018 pleaded guilty to first degree rape with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 75 months' confinement.

¶ 4 In 1990, while incarcerated at the Special Offender Center and serving his sentence for the 1985 rape, Moore rushed into his counselor's office without her permission. The counselor started to scream, but Moore told her to stop and pushed her into a wall, holding a weapon made of two pencils to her rib cage. Moore forced her to the corner of the office that was furthest from view of the outside hallway and told her to bend over. Moore pushed his crotch into the counselor's buttocks, and it was obvious to the counselor Moore had an erection. A nurse heard the counselor's muffled screams and called for help. A staff person arrived, pulled Moore away from the counselor, and restrained him.

¶ 5 Moore was charged with second degree attempted rape by forcible compulsion. He was again sent to WSH for a competency evaluation, and after being deemed competent to stand trial, Moore pleaded guilty to second degree attempted rape by forcible compulsion. He was sentenced to 50 1/2 months' confinement.

¶ 6 Since the 1990 attempted rape of the counselor until 2003, Moore was charged for committing several violent and sexual acts against prison staff. In 1991, he was charged with first degree custodial assault for hitting a female corrections officer on the head with a broom handle. Moore later told a psychiatrist he wanted to "`try to do something sexual to her.'" CP at 28, 38. Although WSH personnel determined Moore was competent, the trial court disagreed, and in the interests of justice, the prosecuting attorney dismissed the charges. In 1995, Moore was charged and convicted of custodial assault with sexual motivation when he ran up to a female corrections officer, grabbed her from behind, and held his arms around her chest. He then twisted the officer, thrusting his pelvis into her buttocks.[1]

¶ 7 In 2003, Moore grabbed his forensic therapist from behind, pressed his body against hers, and thrust his hips against her buttocks in a manner indicative of intercourse. Moore was charged with indecent liberties by forcible compulsion. Although Moore did not deny committing the acts as described, the trial court acquitted him of the charge.

¶ 8 In 2003, Moore was convicted of fourth degree assault when he charged a female staff member at the Special Commitment Center. When the staff member moved under a counter to protect herself, Moore repeatedly kicked her in the leg. Aside from these criminal acts, Moore has been found guilty of over 400 major infractions while in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

SVP proceedings

¶ 9 In May 2002, while Moore was incarcerated, the State filed a petition alleging Moore should be civilly committed as an SVP. The court conducted a competency hearing. At the hearing, Dr. Lee Gustafson testified that, having evaluated Moore's competency approximately four times in the preceding 10 years, Moore was legally incompetent on one or two of those occasions. When Moore was found incompetent to stand trial, he had not been on antipsychotic medication and his self-care

had deteriorated to the point where he was not bathing. There was feces in his hair. He was, in fact, drinking out of the urinal, and his skin was literally rotting off his body. Any efforts to engage him in any kind of conversation met with silence; he refused to talk.

Report of Proceedings (RP) (Sept. 20, 2002) at 5. Although Moore refused to speak to Dr. Gustafson before the competency hearing, Dr. Gustafson testified he had observed Moore immediately before the competency hearing and that Moore appeared cooperative and was talking to his attorney. When asked whether appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL) would be in Moore's best interests, Dr. Gustafson opined that, when Moore was cooperating and talking with his attorney, a GAL would be unnecessary. If Moore was not cooperating and a decision needed to be made on a timely basis, a GAL would be useful. The trial court found Moore was *1019 competent to stand trial but appointed a standby GAL in the event Moore's trial counsel or the standby GAL felt Moore was unable to make his own decisions. During a recess after the ruling, Dr. Gustafson was allowed to interview Moore and supplement his testimony. After the interview, Dr. Gustafson did not change his recommendation. There is no indication the standby GAL was ever used.

¶ 10 A bench trial began in 2006. Pretrial, Moore's trial counsel filed motions in limine regarding 15 evidentiary issues. The State agreed to several issues and the trial court ruled on the remainder.

¶ 11 The State's expert, Dr. Richard Packard, was the first witness. Midway through his testimony, the parties entered a document entitled "Stipulated Facts and Exhibits" (stipulation) that included factual stipulations and stipulations to exhibits in lieu of witness testimony. Moore's trial counsel informed the court that Moore stipulated to the document but wanted to maintain a continuing objection to any evidence identified in the motion in limine. Following the entry of the stipulation, the State continued with its direct examination of Dr. Packard. Dr. Packard testified that, after interviewing Moore for several hours and reviewing Moore's file, he diagnosed Moore as having a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, paraphilia not otherwise specified with a focus on "nonconsent where the sexual urges and behaviors are oriented towards having sexual contact with nonconsenting persons," and a personality disorder not otherwise specified that includes antisocial and passive aggressive features. RP (Mar. 7, 2006) at 89. Dr. Packard opined that Moore's paraphilia was "chronic and lifelong." Id. at 119.

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216 P.3d 1015, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-detention-of-moore-wash-2009.