In re the Detention of Keeney

141 Wash. App. 318
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 23, 2007
DocketNo. 25277-9-III
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 141 Wash. App. 318 (In re the Detention of Keeney) 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 the Detention of Keeney, 141 Wash. App. 318 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Kulik, J.

¶1 John W. Keeney was committed as a sexually violent predator (SVP). He asserts that the SVP statute is unconstitutionally vague, that his right to a unanimous jury verdict was violated, and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the SVP commitment hearing because Mr. Keeney was unlawfully imprisoned at the time.

¶2 Mere uncertainty is insufficient to establish that a statute is unconstitutionally vague. And our Supreme Court has rejected a general claim that the SVP statute is unconstitutionally vague. Specifically, we hold RCW 71-.09.020(7) to be constitutional and we reject Mr. Keeney’s additional assertions of error. We affirm.

FACTS

¶3 John W. Keeney was convicted of second degree child molestation and sentenced to 100 months’ incarceration, with credit for time served. Mr. Keeney had previously been convicted of second degree rape. The latest possible date that the State could keep Mr. Keeney incarcerated for the child molestation conviction was September 29, 2004. Mr. Keeney had an expected early release date of October 16, 2002.

¶4 Several months prior to Mr. Keeney’s expected early release date, the End of Sentence Review Committee asked a clinical and forensic psychologist to evaluate Mr. Keeney to determine whether he met the criteria as an SVP. The psychologist found that Mr. Keeney did meet the statutory criteria of an SVP. The committee then forwarded the case [322]*322to the Walla Walla County prosecutor to begin SVP commitment proceedings.

¶5 During this same period, Mr. Keeney submitted his community release plan to the Department of Corrections (DOC), seeking early release. His plan was rejected by the DOC based on “Policy 350.200.” Clerk’s Papers at 171. The DOC will not approve a community release plan under Policy 350.200 if the End of Sentence Review Committee determines that the offender meets the criteria for referral as an SVP. Because Mr. Keeney was determined by the committee to meet the SVP criteria, Mr. Keeney’s community release plan was denied.

¶6 On September 24, 2004, the State petitioned the trial court to commit Mr. Keeney as an SVP pursuant to chapter 71.09 RCW. This was five days prior to the last possible date that the State could incarcerate Mr. Keeney under the maximum term of his sentence.

¶7 Mr. Keeney moved to dismiss the commitment proceedings, arguing that the SVP statute did not define a period of time during which the defendant more probably than not would offend and, thus, was unconstitutionally vague and violated due process. According to Mr. Keeney, this allowed the jury to consider any time period, thereby allowing the jury to legislate what the law is in each case.1 The trial court denied the motion.

¶8 Mr. Keeney again moved for dismissal. In his second motion, he argued that he was unlawfully imprisoned by the State for 23 months, and that the trial court should dismiss the State’s SVP commitment petition because of that unlawful imprisonment. Again, the trial court denied this motion.

[323]*323¶9 The jury heard evidence of numerous sexual assaults committed by Mr. Keeney against eight separate victims. These incidents included several rapes, including one at knife point, and various other sexual assaults. All of the victims were young, teenage girls.

¶10 The jury determined that Mr. Keeney was an SVP and he was civilly committed by the trial court. This appeal timely followed.

ANALYSIS

Constitutionality of Chapter 71.09 RCW

¶11 This court reviews the constitutionality of a statute de novo. See State v. Watson, 160 Wn.2d 1, 5-6, 154 P.3d 909 (2007) (quoting Kitsap County v. Mattress Outlet, 153 Wn.2d 506, 509, 104 P.3d 1280 (2005)). And we presume that statutes are constitutional. State v. Glas, 147 Wn.2d 410, 422, 54 P.3d 147 (2002).

¶12 Constitutional protections of due process require that statutes provide fair notice of the proscribed conduct. See Watson, 160 Wn.2d at 6. A statute does not provide fair notice if it is phrased in terms that are so vague that an individual of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning. Id. at 7 (quoting Connally v. Gen. Constr. Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391, 46 S. Ct. 126, 70 L. Ed. 322 (1926)). Due process concerns regarding vagueness also address the need to prevent arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement of the law. Glas, 147 Wn.2d at 421-22 (quoting City of Tacoma v. Luvene, 118 Wn.2d 826, 844, 827 P.2d 1374 (1992)).

¶13 Here, Mr. Keeney asserts that Washington’s SVP statute is unconstitutionally vague. Specifically, he asserts the statute fails to define the relevant time period that the fact finder is to use when assessing whether a defendant is likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence. According to Mr. Keeney, because the likelihood of reoffense changes over time, the lack of a defined time frame poses a danger of arbitrary determinations of SVP status.

[324]*324¶14 In order to find that the statute at issue is unconstitutionally vague, this court must find either that the statute does not define the offense with sufficient definiteness so that ordinary people can understand what conduct is proscribed, or that the statute does not provide ascertainable standards in order to prevent arbitrary enforcement. State v. Williams, 144 Wn.2d 197, 203, 26 P.3d 890 (2001) (quoting City of Bellevue v. Lorang, 140 Wn.2d 19, 30, 992 P.2d 496 (2000)).

¶15 But mere uncertainty is insufficient to establish that a statute is unconstitutionally vague. Watson, 160 Wn.2d at 7 (quoting City of Spokane v. Douglass, 115 Wn.2d 171, 179, 795 P.2d 693 (1990)). This court will not invalidate a statute merely because it could have been drafted more precisely. State v. Sullivan, 143 Wn.2d 162, 184, 19 P.3d 1012 (2001).

¶16 In order to find that an individual is an SVP, the State must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the person has been convicted, or charged with, a crime of sexual violence. In re Det. of Stout, 159 Wn.2d 357, 365, 150 P.3d 86 (2007). The State must also show that the individual suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility. Id. The phrase “[ljikely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility” is defined by RCW 71.09.020(7).

¶17 The Washington Supreme Court has already considered, and rejected, a general claim that the word “likely” in the SVP statute is unconstitutionally vague. In re Pers. Restraint of Young, 122 Wn.2d 1, 49, 857 P.2d 989 (1993).

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141 Wash. App. 318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-detention-of-keeney-washctapp-2007.