In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell

CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 10, 2023
Docket100,753-1
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell (In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell) 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 Pers. Restraint of Ansell, (Wash. 2023).

Opinion

NOTICE: SLIP OPINION (not the court’s final written decision)

The opinion that begins on the next page is a slip opinion. Slip opinions are the written opinions that are originally filed by the court. A slip opinion is not necessarily the court’s final written decision. Slip opinions can be changed by subsequent court orders. For example, a court may issue an order making substantive changes to a slip opinion or publishing for precedential purposes a previously “unpublished” opinion. Additionally, nonsubstantive edits (for style, grammar, citation, format, punctuation, etc.) are made before the opinions that have precedential value are published in the official reports of court decisions: the Washington Reports 2d and the Washington Appellate Reports. An opinion in the official reports replaces the slip opinion as the official opinion of the court. The slip opinion that begins on the next page is for a published opinion, and it has since been revised for publication in the printed official reports. The official text of the court’s opinion is found in the advance sheets and the bound volumes of the official reports. Also, an electronic version (intended to mirror the language found in the official reports) of the revised opinion can be found, free of charge, at this website: https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports. For more information about precedential (published) opinions, nonprecedential (unpublished) opinions, slip opinions, and the official reports, see https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions and the information that is linked there. For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/. FILE THIS OPINION WAS FILED FOR RECORD AT 8 A.M. ON AUGUST 10, 2023 IN CLERK’S OFFICE SUPREME COURT, STATE OF WASHINGTON AUGUST 10, 2023 ERIN L. LENNON SUPREME COURT CLERK

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of ) ) No. 100753-1 PETER DANIEL ANSELL, ) ) EN BANC Respondent. ) ) Filed: August 10, 2023 ____________________________________)

MONTOYA-LEWIS, J.—Peter Ansell is serving an indeterminate life

sentence in community custody. The Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board

(ISRB) seeks reversal of a Court of Appeals decision invalidating certain community

custody conditions. We conclude that the conditions relating to sexually explicit

materials, dating, and relationships are not unconstitutionally vague. However, the

ISRB exceeded its authority in imposing the cannabis condition, which it concedes

is not related to Ansell’s crimes. We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Ansell is serving an indeterminate life sentence for multiple counts of child

molestation. He and his wife were part of a babysitting group with two other families

in his neighborhood. The parents took turns taking care of the children when the For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/. In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell No. 100753-1

other couples went out in the evenings. Between 2006 and 2008, Ansell molested

the children of his friends and neighbors when he was in charge of babysitting the

children. He pleaded guilty to three counts of child molestation.

Ansell received an indeterminate sentence of 130 months to life. After he

served the minimum term of incarceration, the ISRB reviewed Ansell’s file and, in

2020, found him eligible to serve the remainder of his sentence in community

custody.

As part of that review, the Department of Corrections referred Ansell for a

sexual deviancy evaluation and risk assessment. Although there is no evidence that

the crimes involved any drugs, the evaluation inquired into Ansell’s drug and alcohol

history. He reported some drug experimentation and alcohol use in his youth and

infrequent use of alcohol and cannabis 1 in his adulthood.

The ISRB determined Ansell to be a low risk and releasable under RCW

9.95.420, subject to over two dozen conditions. Ansell timely filed a personal

restraint petition (PRP) challenging eight of the community custody conditions. The

Court of Appeals found the following five conditions invalid:

B. You must not enter the area of Seattle that is south of Hwy 523 and north of I[nterstate]-90, in between Lake Washington and the Puget Sound/Elliott Bay, without prior written approval of your [Community Corrections Officer] CCO and the ISRB. (See attached map[.])

1 We use the term “cannabis” except where quoting the record. See State v. Fraser, 199 Wn.2d 465, 469 n.1, 509 P.3d 282 (2022). 2 For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/. In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell No. 100753-1

.... D. You must not use, possess or control any Marijuana/THC or enter any establishments whose primary purpose is the sale of Marijuana/THC. .... G. You must not possess or access sexually explicit materials. Sexually explicit materials consists of any item reasonably deemed to be intended for sexual gratification and which displays, portrays, depicts, or describes: a) Nudity, which includes, but is not limited to, exposed/visible (in whole or part, including under or through translucent/thin materials providing intimate physical detail) genitals/genitalia, anus, buttocks and/or female/transgender breast nipple(s); b) A sex act which includes, but is not limited to, genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal contact/penetration, genital or anal contact/penetration with an inanimate object, masturbation and/or bodily excretory behavior; c) Sadistic/masochistic abuse, bondage, bestiality, and/or a participant who appears to be nonconsenting, dominated, degraded, humiliated, or in a submissive role, and/or a participant who appears to be acting in a forceful, threatening, dominating, or violent manner; and/or d) A minor, or a model or cartoon depicting a minor, in a sexually suggestive setting/pose/attire. .... N. You must not date individuals who have minor children, unless you receive prior approval from your CCO and the ISRB. O. You must not form relationships with persons/families with minor children without first disclosing your sex offender status and having this relationship approved by your CCO.

Mot. for Discr. Rev., App. F at 2-3.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeals granted the PRP in part, dismissed it in

part, and directed the ISRB to strike or revise several conditions. In re Pers.

Restraint of Ansell, No. 82506-2-I, slip op. at 21 (Wash. Ct. App. Jan. 18, 2022)

(unpublished), https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/825062.pdf. The court

3 For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/. In re Pers. Restraint of Ansell No. 100753-1

found condition D (cannabis) unauthorized under Winton. 2 Id. at 6. It found

conditions G (sexually explicit materials), N (dating), and O (relationships)

unconstitutionally vague. Id. at 11-13, 16-17. It directed the ISRB to modify

condition B (travel) to develop standards for exceptions to travel through the

exclusion zone. Id. at 21.

We granted the ISRB’s motion for discretionary review regarding conditions

D, G, N, and O. No party sought review regarding condition B (travel). However,

the ISRB indicated that it had amended that condition, and Ansell subsequently filed

a motion for an injunction for this court to compel the ISRB to further revise

condition B. For the reasons stated below, we now deny the motion for an

injunction, and we affirm in part and reverse in part.

ANALYSIS

I. Motion for Injunction

We first address the request for injunctive relief. This court has authority to

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