In Re Pierce

268 P.3d 907
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 29, 2011
Docket83731-7
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 268 P.3d 907 (In Re Pierce) 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 Pierce, 268 P.3d 907 (Wash. 2011).

Opinion

268 P.3d 907 (2011)

In the Matter of the Personal Restraint Petition of Chad A. PIERCE, Petitioner.

No. 83731-7.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 19, 2011.
Decided December 29, 2011.

*908 Chad Alan Pierce, Kent, WA, for Petitioner.

Douglas Wayne Carr, Office of the Attorney General, Olympia, WA, for Respondent.

Harry Williams, IV, Keller Rohrback, LLP, Suzanne Lee Elliott, Attorney at Law, Sarah A. Dunne, Nancy Lynn Talner, ACLU of Washington Foundation, Travis Stearns, Washington Defender Association, Seattle, WA, amicus counsel for Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

STEPHENS, J.

¶ 1 This case involves the authority of the Department of Corrections (Department) to deduct funds from an inmate's trust account. Chad Alan Pierce, a Washington State inmate, filed a personal restraint petition challenging the Department's collection of costs of incarceration and legal financial obligations (LFOs) from his account. He asserts that his judgment and sentence prohibits the Department from making such deductions. We disagree and hold that the Department has statutory authority to deduct costs of incarceration independent of the judgment and sentence. In addition, the Department may deduct LFOs while Pierce is confined, and it need not issue a notice of payroll deduction before initiating its collection efforts. Accordingly, we dismiss Pierce's personal restraint petition.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 A jury convicted Pierce of two counts of first degree child molestation in 2006. The trial court sentenced Pierce to an indeterminate life sentence with a 108-month *909 minimum term. The judgment and sentence reflects that the trial court imposed LFOs consisting of restitution and a $500 victim penalty assessment. The court waived all other financial obligations listed in the judgment and sentence, including costs of incarceration under former RCW 9.94A.760(2) (2004).[1] Pierce's judgment and sentence provides that payment of his LFOs "shall be made to the King County Superior Court Clerk according to the rules of the Clerk and the following terms: ... [o]n a schedule established by the defendant's Community Corrections Officer." Personal Restraint Pet., Ex. 3, at 3.

¶ 3 Shortly after Pierce's transfer to prison, the Department began deducting costs of incarceration and LFOs from his inmate trust account. Pierce filed several internal grievances with the Department challenging the deductions as unlawful. The Department acknowledges it has collected approximately $30 in costs of incarceration (COI)[2] and $30 in LFOs from Pierce's account.

¶ 4 After his unsuccessful attempts to prevent the deductions, Pierce filed this personal restraint petition pro se arguing that the Department is prohibited from collecting costs of incarceration because the judgment and sentence waived costs of incarceration under former RCW 9.94A.760. He also contends that the Department cannot deduct LFOs from his account until he is released because his judgment and sentence provides for payment of his LFOs on a schedule set by his community corrections officer. Pierce further claims that the community custody tolling statute delays his payment obligations while he is confined. Finally, Pierce asserts that the Department's deductions of LFOs are unlawful because the Department failed to issue a notice of payroll deduction prior to initiating its collection efforts.

¶ 5 The Court of Appeals dismissed Pierce's personal restraint petition as frivolous under RAP 16.11(b). Pierce moved for discretionary review, and we granted his motion.[3]

ANALYSIS

¶ 6 To grant relief on a personal restraint petition alleging a constitutional claim, we generally require a threshold showing of actual and substantial prejudice. In re Pers. Restraint of Gentry, 170 Wash.2d 711, 714, 245 P.3d 766 (2010). For nonconstitutional claims we require a showing that the error "`constitute[s] a fundamental defect and inherently result[s] in a complete miscarriage of justice.'" Id. (quoting In re Pers. Restraint of Lord, 123 Wash.2d 296, 303, 868 P.2d 835 (1994)). But when a petition "raises issues that were afforded no previous opportunity for judicial review, ... the petitioner need not make the threshold showing of actual prejudice or complete miscarriage of justice." Id. at 714-15, 245 P.3d 766 (citing In re Pers. Restraint of Grantham, 168 Wash.2d 204, 214, 227 P.3d 285 (2010)). It is enough if the petitioner can demonstrate unlawful restraint under RAP 16.4. Id. at 715, 245 P.3d 766.

¶ 7 An inmate is unlawfully restrained if the Department collects funds from the inmate's account illegally. See In re Pers. Restraint of Sappenfield, 138 Wash.2d 588, 595, 980 P.2d 1271 (1999). Thus, if Pierce can show that the Department lacks authority to deduct funds from his account, he would meet his burden of proving unlawful restraint under RAP 16.4.

*910 ¶ 8 Pierce's argument relies on the interplay between several statutory provisions. In any question of statutory construction, we look to ascertain the legislature's intention by first examining the statute's plain meaning. Dep't of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wash.2d 1, 9-10, 43 P.3d 4 (2002). "[I]f the statute's meaning is plain on its face, then the court must give effect to that plain meaning as an expression of legislative intent." Id. We discern a statute's plain meaning "from the ordinary meaning of the language at issue, the context of the statute in which that provision is found, related provisions, and the statutory scheme as a whole." Christensen v. Ellsworth, 162 Wash.2d 365, 373, 173 P.3d 228 (2007) (citing Campbell & Gwinn, 146 Wash.2d at 9-12, 43 P.3d 4). "`Statutes must be interpreted and construed so that all the language used is given effect, with no portion rendered meaningless or superfluous.'" State v. J.P., 149 Wash.2d 444, 450, 69 P.3d 318 (2003) (quoting Davis v. Dep't of Licensing, 137 Wash.2d 957, 963, 977 P.2d 554 (1999)). We will not construe a statute in a manner that creates an absurd result. Id.

¶ 9 Given the complexity of the statutory scheme at issue, we begin with a brief explanation of the relevant statutes.

I. Statutory Scheme

Former RCW 9.94A.760

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Bluebook (online)
268 P.3d 907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-pierce-wash-2011.