Spencer v. Peters

907 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157877, 2012 WL 5388918
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedNovember 2, 2012
DocketNo. C11-5424 BHS
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 907 F. Supp. 2d 1221 (Spencer v. Peters) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Spencer v. Peters, 907 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157877, 2012 WL 5388918 (W.D. Wash. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PETERS’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO CONTINUE

BENJAMIN H. SETTLE, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant James M. Peter’s (“Peters”) [1223]*1223motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 68) and Plaintiffs’ motion to continue (Dkt. 72). The Court has considered the pleadings filed in support of and in opposition to the motion and the remainder of the file and hereby grants in part and denies in part the parties’ motions for the reasons stated herein.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 2, 2012, Plaintiffs Clyde Ray Spencer (“Mr. Spencer”) and his two children, Matthew Ray Spencer (“Matthew”) and Kathryn E. Tetz (“Kathryn”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), filed a complaint against Peters, a former deputy prosecuting attorney for Clark County Prosecutor’s Office and five other named Defendants, including John and Jane Does 1 through 10. Dkt. 1.

On May 24, 2012, Peters filed a motion for summary judgment. Dkt. 68. On June 18, 2012, Plaintiffs filed a response to Peters’s motion and requested a continuance. Dkt. 78. On June 22, 2012, Peters filed a reply. On July 2, 1012, Mr. Peters filed a sur-reply. Dkt. 87.

The Court has ruled on three eo-Defendants’ motions for summary judgement and Plaintiffs’ related motion to continue. Dkt. 91 (“Davidson Order”) and 93 (“Krause Order”). The Court has one outstanding summary judgment motion on which to rule in this case, excluding the instant motion. The Davidson and Krause orders will be applicable to and referenced throughout this order.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND1

This case has a rather extensive background, involving allegations that take place over the span of almost thirty years. During this time, by way of an Alford plea, Mr. Spencer was convicted of multiple counts of sexually abusing his children Matthew and Kathryn, and his step-son Matthew Hansen (“Hansen”), and sentenced to life in prison. Dkt. 1 at 6; 63-8; & 63-9. Subsequently, Mr. Spencer filed numerous petitions with the state and federal courts challenging his arrest, conviction, and incarceration. Court decisions stemming from those challenges are a subject of the motions at issue here. Given the length of time and number of decisions involved in this case, the Court begins with a synopsis of the facts and a summary of Plaintiffs’ claims. Then, throughout this order, the Court provides more detailed discussion of the facts, as necessary.

A. Initial Allegations

Mr. Spencer is a former police officer of the Vancouver Police Department (‘VPD”). Dkt. 63-3 at 2. In the summer of 1984, while he was employed by the VPD, Mr. Spencer and his now former wife, Ms. Spencer, and Hansen were visited by Kathryn and Matthew, children from his prior marriage to DeAnne Spencer. Dkt. 1 at 6-7. Upon Mr. Spencer’s return from a seminar, Ms. Spencer advised him that Kathryn made inconsistent allegations of sexual abuse, including ones against him. Id. at 7 & 63 at 2. The allegations were reported to Child Protective Services (“CPS”) in Vancouver, Washington and to CPS in Sacramento, California, where the children resided with their biological mother, DeAnne Spencer. Id.

B. Investigation, Arrest & Plea

Defendant Michael Davidson (“Davidson”), a detective with the Sheriffs Office, and his subordinate, Krause, were involved in the investigation of the case against Mr. Spencer. Dkts. 62-13 & 64-2. On Octo[1224]*1224ber 16, 1984, five-year-old Kathryn was interviewed by Krause, who made a written report of Kathryn’s allegations of sexual abuse by her father. Dkt. 64-2. On November 27, 1984, King County Prosecutor, Rebecca Roe (“Roe”), who had been asked to review the case, found that Kathryn’s allegations provided insufficient evidence to obtain a conviction; yet, in January 1985, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, through Peters, charged Mr. Spencer with and arrested him for two counts of sexually abusing Kathryn and released on personal recognizance. Dkt. 64-1 & 2.

Mr. Spencer was separated from his wife and moved into the Salmon Creek Motel. Dkt. 1 at 17. On February 16, 1985, Ms. Spencer took four-year-old Hansen to the Salmon Creek Motel to stay the night with Mr. Spencer. Dkt. 1 at 17 & 64-3 at 9. On February 28, 1985, Krause interviewed Hansen. Dkt. 1 at 17 & 64-3. In her report, Krause indicated that Hansen alleged Mr. Spencer had committed multiple acts of violent sexual abuse at home and at the Salmon Creek Motel; Hansen also indicated that he witnessed abuse of Kathryn and Matthew and that they were forced to touch each other. Dkt. 1 at 17 & 64-3 at 16-22. On the same day of Hansen’s interview, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, through Peters, filed an amended information charging Mr. Spencer with three counts of statutory rape of Hansen. Dkt. 63-6. Later that day, Mr. Spencer was arrested pursuant to a warrant. Dkt. 63-4 & 5. Davidson was one of the arresting officers. Dkt. 1 at 18 & 62 at 5. Although it is disputed as to what the nature of their relationship was and when it began, Davidson and Ms. Spencer became involved, and Davidson informed his subordinate Krause about his involvement with Ms. Spencer. See, e.g., Dkt. 1 at 21, 48 at 3-4, 53 at 4, 63-20 at 13, & 73-1 at 11-14.

On March 25, 1985, Krause interviewed nine-year-old Matthew. Dkt. 64-5. According to Krause’s report, after Matthew denied several times that his father abused him, he told Krause that Mr. Spencer abused him, Kathryn, and Hansen and made them touch each other. Id. According to another interview report by Krause, that same day, she .re-interviewed Kathryn, who corroborated Matthew and Hansen’s statements. Dkt. 64-6. The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, through Peters, filed a second amended information, charging Mr. Spencer with ten counts of first degree statutory rape and six counts of complicity to first degree statutory rape based on the disclosures of all three children. Dkt. 63-6. In 1985, Mr. Spencer entered an Alford plea of guilty to multiple counts of sexually abusing Matthew, Kathryn and Hansen. Dkt. 1 at 6 & 63-8.

C. Mr. Spencer Challenges his Arrest, Conviction, and Incarceration

During his incarceration, Mr. Spencer filed numerous Personal Restraint Petitions (“PRPs”) and appeals therefrom. His challenges involved alleged failures to disclose exculpatory evidence, such as Roe’s opinion regarding whether to proceed with the case, and the medical reports of Kathryn and Matthew which did not corroborate the type of abuse alleged, as well as other claims, such as allegations that Davidson coerced him into pleading. Dkt. 63-11-16 & 21-25.

After several unsuccessful appeals, the relevant facts of which will be discussed throughout this order, Mr. Spencer’s prison sentence was commuted to community supervision in 2004 by then Governor Locke. Dkt. 63-18. ' Following his release from prison, Kathryn and Matthew recanted their prior allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Spencer. Dkt. 63-20. Hansen has [1225]*1225not recanted his allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Spencer. See Dkt. 54 & 54-1.

In 2009, the state court of appeals ruled Mr. Spencer could withdraw his Alford

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Bluebook (online)
907 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157877, 2012 WL 5388918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spencer-v-peters-wawd-2012.