In re the Personal Restraint of Bolduc

753 P.2d 983, 51 Wash. App. 225, 1988 Wash. App. LEXIS 232
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided February 22, 1988·No. No. 17983-7-I·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Wetherall, J.*

Petitioner Douglas H. Bolduc filed an appeal with this court seeking review of the trial court's dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.

Facts

On May 21, 1975, Bolduc was sentenced to a maximum term of 15 years for the crime of grand larceny. He was paroled on May 20, 1976.

On March 3, 1978, Bolduc was sentenced to a maximum term of 10 years upon conviction of burglary. On April 2, 1979, appellant was again paroled. Shortly thereafter, appellant violated parole and was incarcerated until October 17, 1979, at which time he was again paroled. Approximately 1 month later, appellant violated parole and was incarcerated until his parole release on January 15, 1981. Several months later, appellant violated parole and was again incarcerated. On May 13, 1981, appellant was sentenced to a maximum term of 10 years for the crime of second degree burglary.

[227] On June 1, 1984, appellant was granted parole by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles. On August 31, 1984, appellant was arrested for violating the conditions of parole. At a subsequent parole revocation hearing, appellant was found guilty of (1) an attempted assault (on July 22, 1984) in which appellant allegedly injured two people when he smashed his fist through the driver's side window of their car following a traffic disagreement, (2) breaking into Steve's TV Store (on August 6, 1984) in Edmonds, Washington, and (3) breaking into Bradbury TV Store (on August 16, 1984) in Edmonds, Washington. The presiding board member concluded that appellant's parole should be revoked and that he should be incarcerated and sentenced to a new minimum term of confinement. The reasons for this conclusion were stated as follows:

Bolduc has been paroled four times and on the last occasion, was paroled June 1, 1984 and involved in the assault on July 22, 1984. There was no reason whatsoever for such drastic action. Parolee's conduct is that of an extremely dangerous person. Further, he was obviously involved in the break-ins. Parolee appears to be completely out of control. There is no indicated change from previous periods of incarceration. This Board Member recommends a NMT of not less than 60 months. He should be evaluated psychologically.

Following the parole revocation hearing, the Board issued findings and conclusions and a recommendation of a new minimum sentence of 60 months.

On November 15, 1985, Bolduc petitioned the superior court for a writ of habeas corpus asserting that the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles did not have authority or jurisdiction to incarcerate Bolduc for a term of 5 years for violating the terms and conditions of parole.

The State subsequently moved for dismissal of the petition, and on January 25, 1986, the superior court entered a memorandum decision granting the motion. This appeal followed.

Bolduc first contends the Board lacked jurisdiction or [228] authority to set his minimum term. This argument was rejected in Addleman v. Board of Prison Terms & Paroles, 107 Wn.2d 503, 511, 730 P.2d 1327 (1986).

Bolduc next contends the superior court erred in concluding that the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles did not abuse its discretion in setting his minimum term of confinement outside the standard ranges set out in the sentencing reform act (SRA). He contends the Board abused its discretion in setting a 60-month minimum term because the written reasons given for the exceptional sentence are inadequate under RCW 9.94A.210, and therefore this court should order resentencing consistent with the SRA. He contends that In re Myers, 105 Wn.2d 257, 714 P.2d 303 (1986) supports his argument. We disagree.

In setting a new minimum sentence, the Board is required, under RCW 9.95.009, (1) to consider the purposes, standards, and sentencing ranges adopted pursuant to RCW 9.94A.040, (2) to consider the minimum term recommendations of the sentencing judge and prosecuting attorney, and (3) to attempt to be reasonably consistent with the standards and ranges set forth in RCW 9.94A.040. If the Board sets a minimum term outside the sentencing ranges adopted pursuant to RCW 9.94A.040, the Board "shall give adequate written reasons" for such departure. RCW 9.95.009(2).

In the instant case, once the Board determined that appellant's parole should be revoked, it was required, under RCW 9.95.125, to set "a new minimum sentence, not exceeding the maximum penalty provided by law for the crime for which the parole violator was originally convicted . . ." RCW 9.95.125. The Board proceeded to set a new minimum term of 60 months for appellant's parole violation. Consistent with RCW 9.95.009(2) and In re Myers, supra, the Board subsequently reviewed this minimum term in light of the SRA guideline ranges (0 to 3 months for the grand larceny charge, and 2 to 6 months for the first burglary charge, and 4 to 12 months for the second burglary [229] charge) and issued the following written reasons for exceeding the SRA ranges:

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In re the Personal Restraint of Bolduc, 753 P.2d 983, 51 Wash. App. 225, 1988 Wash. App. LEXIS 232 (Wash. Ct. App. 1988).

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50 Wash. App. 1055 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1988)