In re the Personal Restraint of Moi

360 P.3d 811, 184 Wash. 2d 575
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 29, 2015
DocketNo. 89706-9
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 360 P.3d 811 (In re the Personal Restraint of Moi) 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 the Personal Restraint of Moi, 360 P.3d 811, 184 Wash. 2d 575 (Wash. 2015).

Opinion

González, J.

¶[1 — It is a bedrock principle of constitutional law that “[n]o person shall... be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.” Wash. Const, art. I, § 9. In 2006, Mathew Moi was tried for the murder of Keith McGowan and for unlawful possession of the gun that killed McGowan. No physical evidence tied Moi to the gun, and perhaps because of that, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge. Based on the same evidence, Moi was acquitted of unlawful possession of the gun. On its second try, the State secured a murder conviction, still arguing that McGowan was killed with the gun Moi was acquitted of possessing. The State concedes that the same issue of ultimate fact was decided in both trials but argues it would be unjust to apply double jeopardy against it because it was surprised by Moi’s testimony- in the first trial that someone else shot McGowan and because Moi had moved to sever the two charges. Given the State’s concession, we grant the personal restraint petition.

Facts

¶2 On October 19, 2004, someone shot and killed McGowan when he went to his front door. Suspicion soon fell on Moi. Based on witness testimony that placed Moi at the scene and an ex-girlfriend’s statement that Moi told her he had killed someone that night, Moi was charged with murder. Moi admitted he was there when McGowan was shot but denied being the shooter.

¶3 The State’s crime lab later determined that McGowan was killed by a gun recovered from a nearby storm drain. No fingerprints or other direct physical evidence linked the gun to Moi, but the State offered testimony that suggested Moi had entrusted the gun to friends who had tossed it into the storm drain.

[578]*578¶4 Moi had prior juvenile convictions for second degree robbery and thus was not permitted to possess firearms. See RCW 9.41.040. Shortly before the first trial, the State added a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm based on the same constellation of facts alleged in the murder, charge. Moi moved to sever the two charges to shield the jury in the murder case from the potential prejudicial effect of knowing he had been convicted of second degree robbery as a juvenile. The State opposed severance, arguing that severing the charges “would require the State to present the exact same case a second time.” Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (Oct. 24, 2006) at 236. The State suggested, among other things, that Moi waive his right to a jury trial and have the firearm charge tried to the bench at the same time the murder charge was tried to a jury. Ultimately, the parties agreed to do that.

¶5 After 10 days of testimony and 13 hours of deliberation, the first jury was unable to reach a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial. State v. Moi, noted at 165 Wn. App. 1006, 2011 WL 6825264, at *1, 2011 Wash. App. LEXIS 2719, at *1. The trial judge delayed ruling on the unlawful possession charge to allow briefing on the possible double jeopardy implications and to allow the parties to have plea discussions. The parties were unable to reach a plea agreement but agreed the judge should reach judgment on the unlawful possession charge based on the evidence already presented. After asking a few questions, the judge concluded the State had not carried its burden of proof and acquitted Moi of the charge.

¶6 Moi was tried again for murder in 2007. The case was assigned to a different judge, who allowed the State to present motive evidence the first judge had excluded. The second jury returned a guilty verdict. Moi’s direct appeal, which did not raise a double jeopardy challenge, was unsuccessful. 2011 WL 6825264, at *1,2011 Wash. App. LEXIS 2719, at *1. Moi, pro se, filed this timely personal restraint petition, arguing that double jeopardy did not allow him to [579]*579be tried for murder with a gun he had been acquitted of possessing. We granted review and assigned counsel. In re Pers. Restraint of Moi, 182 Wn.2d 1015, 344 P.3d 688 (2015).

Analysis

¶7 “No person shall... be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.” Wash. Const, art. I, § 9; U.S. Const, amend. V. Our two constitutions provide the same protection against double jeopardy. In re Pers. Restraint of Orange, 152 Wn.2d 795, 815, 100 P.3d 291 (2004) (citing State v. Gocken, 127 Wn.2d 95, 100, 896 P.2d 1267 (1995)). We generally review double jeopardy challenges de novo, but as the party asserting collateral estoppel, Moi bears the burden of proof. State v. Freeman, 153 Wn.2d 765, 770, 108 P.3d 753 (2005) (citing State v. Johnston, 100 Wn. App. 126, 137, 996 P.2d 629 (2000)); State v. Williams, 132 Wn.2d 248, 254, 937 P.2d 1052 (1997) (citing McDaniels v. Carlson, 108 Wn.2d 299, 303, 738 P.2d 254 (1987)). As this is a personal restraint petition alleging constitutional error, Moi bears the burden of showing actual and substantial prejudice, which he satisfies if he shows double jeopardy is violated. In re Pers. Restraint of Orange, 152 Wn.2d at 804, 822 (citing In re Pers. Restraint of Lile, 100 Wn.2d 224, 225, 668 P.2d 581 (1983)).

¶8 Among many other things, “the Double Jeopardy Clause incorporates the doctrine of collateral estop-pel.” Dowling v. United States, 493 U.S. 342, 347, 110 S. Ct. 668, 107 L. Ed. 2d 708 (1990) (citing Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436, 90 S. Ct. 1189, 25 L. Ed. 2d 469 (1970)). Under the collateral estoppel doctrine, “when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated between the same parties in any future lawsuit,” including a criminal prosecution. Ashe, 397 U.S. at 443. The Ashe case is illustrative. Several masked men had robbed a six-player poker game. Id. at 437. Ashe was initially charged with robbing just one [580]*580of the players. Id. at 438. After the jury acquitted Ashe of robbing that player, the State charged him with robbing another, “frankly conceding] that following the petitioner’s acquittal, it treated the first trial as no more than a dry run for the second prosecution.” Id. at 439, 447. The Supreme Court reviewed the evidence presented, concluded that “[t]he single rationally conceivable issue in dispute before the jury was whether the petitioner had been one of the robbers,” and held that double jeopardy barred the subsequent prosecution. Id. at 445. The issue of ultimate fact in that case was whether Ashe had robbed the poker game, not which player he had robbed. Id. at 446 (“[T]he name of the victim, in the circumstances of this case, had no bearing whatever upon the issue of whether the petitioner was one of the robbers.”). Once acquitted, the State could not “constitutionally hale him before a new jury to litigate that issue again.” Id.

¶9 Following Ashe,

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Bluebook (online)
360 P.3d 811, 184 Wash. 2d 575, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-personal-restraint-of-moi-wash-2015.