Matter of Personal Restraint of St. Pierre

823 P.2d 492, 118 Wash. 2d 321, 1992 Wash. LEXIS 33
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 1992
Docket57300-0
StatusPublished
Cited by161 cases

This text of 823 P.2d 492 (Matter of Personal Restraint of St. Pierre) 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
Matter of Personal Restraint of St. Pierre, 823 P.2d 492, 118 Wash. 2d 321, 1992 Wash. LEXIS 33 (Wash. 1992).

Opinions

Dolliver, J.

Petitioner Christopher St. Pierre challenges an unpublished Court of Appeals decision dismissing his personal restraint petition. Petitioner seeks the retroactive application of State v. Irizarry, 111 Wn.2d 591, 763 P.2d 432 (1988).

In separate trials, petitioner was found guilty of first degree felony minder, first degree kidnapping, and second degree assault in the death of Damon Wells and aggravated first degree murder in the death of John Achord. State v. St. Pierre, 111 Wn.2d 105, 110, 759 P.2d 383 (1988). On direct review, we reversed petitioner's conviction for aggravated first degree murder, but affirmed the first degree felony murder conviction. We determined the admission of coconspirators' statements relative to the Achord murder violated petitioner's Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses, but held that petitioner's Sixth Amendment right was not violated relative to the Wells murder because petitioner's own statements established his guilt. St. Pierre, 111 Wn.2d at 120. Our decision in St. Pierre was published on July 14, 1988, and amended on July 20, 1988. Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied on November 4, 1988.

[324]*324At the trial of the Wells murder, the court instructed the jury that if it failed to find petitioner guilty of the charged crime of aggravated first degree murder, it could find him guilty of the included offenses of premeditated murder in the first degree, felony murder in the first and second degree, and murder in the second degree. Petitioner specifically objected to this instruction, arguing that felony murder was not a proper included offense of aggravated first degree murder. However, on appeal, petitioner failed to raise the included offense instruction as an error. St. Pierre, 111 Wn.2d at 120 n.5.

After St. Pierre was published, but before petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied, we decided State v. Irizarry, supra. In Irizarry, we concluded felony murder is not an included offense within the offense of aggravated first degree murder. Therefore, we concluded the trial court's instruction treating felony murder as an included offense was a prejudicial error requiring a new trial. Irizarry, 111 Wn.2d at 592. The Irizarry decision was announced on October 27, 1988, 8 days before petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied.

Petitioner then brought this personal restraint petition seeking retroactive application of Irizarry to his case. By order dated May 31, 1990, the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition. It concluded petitioner's conviction was final as to this issue when Irizarry was decided, and petitioner failed to satisfy the requirements for a collateral attack on a conviction. We use a somewhat different analysis but affirm.

Retroactivity analysis has been marked by erratic development since the United States Supreme Court announced the doctrine in 1965. Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 629, 14 L. Ed. 2d 601, 85 S. Ct. 1731. (1965); Comment, Griffith v. Kentucky: Partial Adoption of Justice Harlan's Retroactivity Standard, 10 Crim. Just. J. 153 (1987). Nevertheless, we have attempted from the outset to stay in step with the federal retroactivity analysis. In re Sauve, 103 Wn.2d 322, 326-28, 692 P.2d 818 (1985).

[325]*325Prior to Linkletter, all new constitutional rules of criminal procedure were applied retroactively. Comment, 10 Crim. Just. J. at 155. In Linkletter, the Court first concluded the Constitution neither compels nor prohibits retroactive application of new constitutional rules of criminal procedure. Linkletter, 381 U.S. at 629. The Court then developed a 3-prong analysis which focused on (1) the purpose to be served by the new rule, (2) the extent of reliance by law enforcement authorities on the old standard, and (3) the effect of retroactive appbeation on the administration of justice. Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 297, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1199, 87 S. Ct. 1967 (1967). From this point, the Supreme Court periodicaby modified the analysis by injecting new considerations into the formula. First, the Court announced that new rules amounting to a "clear break" with past precedents would not be appbed retroactively. United States v. Johnson, 457 U.S. 537, 549, 73 L. Ed. 2d 202, 102 S. Ct. 2579 (1982). The Court also created a distinction between direct and cobateral review. New rules not amounting to a clear break with precedent would automatically be appbed to ab convictions not yet final at the time the rule was announced. Johnson, 457 U.S. at 562. However, the retroactivity of new rules raised on cobateral review would stib be evaluated under the three Stovall criteria. In re Taylor, 105 Wn.2d 683, 691, 717 P.2d 755 (1986). Even where the Stovall criteria were stib appbcable, if the major purpose of the new rule was to remedy a defect in the truth-finding function, retroactive appbeation was required without regard to the other Stovall factors. Ivan V. v. New York, 407 U.S. 203, 204, 32 L. Ed. 2d 659, 92 S. Ct. 1951 (1972).

By the Court's own admission, the Linkletter retroactivity standard led to a series of inconsistent results. Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 302-04, 103 L. Ed. 2d 334, 109 S. Ct. 1060 (1989) (O'Connor, J., opinion). Justice Harlan suggested an alternative approach. See Desist v. United States, 394 U.S. 244, 258, 22 L. Ed. 2d 248, 89 S. Ct. 1030 (1969) (Harlan, J., dissenting). Justice Harlan argued ab new rules, regardless of whether they break with past prece[326]*326dents, must be applied to all cases subject to direct review at the time the rule is announced. Desist, 394 U.S. at 258 (Harlan, J., dissenting). However, Justice Harlan viewed collateral attacks differently. He argued new rules of any sort should not be applied retroactively on collateral review, subject to two narrow exceptions: (1) rules which place certain kinds of primary, private individual conduct beyond the power of the state to proscribe, and (2) rules which require the observance of procedures implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Mackey v. United States, 401 U.S. 667, 692-93, 28 L. Ed. 2d 404, 91 S. Ct. 1160 (1971) (Harlan, J., concurring).

The Supreme Court has now largely adopted Justice Harlan's analysis. In Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 328, 93 L. Ed. 2d 649, 107 S. Ct. 708 (1987), the Court expressly adopted Justice Harlan's view as to direct review. More recently, a majority of the Court expressly endorsed Justice Harlan's view as to the limitations on collateral review. Teague,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Washington v. Ryan Lewis Farr
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
State v. Luna
Washington Supreme Court, 2025
Personal Restraint Petition Of Keith Whitehawk
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
State v. Harris
Washington Supreme Court, 2024
Personal Restraint Petition Of Jarrod Allan Airington
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
Personal Restraint Petition Of Sean Anthony Thompson
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
State of Washington v. Darren Stanley Harris
533 P.3d 135 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023)
Personal Restraint Petition Of Robert Lee Pry
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
Personal Restraint Petition Of Charles R Turner
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
State Of Washington, V. Shamarr D. Parker
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State Of Washington, V. Jacee P. Crull
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State Of Washington, V. Cory N. Mason
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State Of Washington, V. Teresa June York
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
Personal Restraint Petition Of Svein Arve Vik
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2019
State v. Brown
440 P.3d 962 (Washington Supreme Court, 2019)
State v. Buckman
Washington Supreme Court, 2018
Personal Restraint Petition Of Edward J. Hills
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
State v. Bailon Wences
Washington Supreme Court, 2017

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
823 P.2d 492, 118 Wash. 2d 321, 1992 Wash. LEXIS 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-personal-restraint-of-st-pierre-wash-1992.