State Of Washington, Respondent/cr-appellant v. Jesse Randall Ackerman, Appellant/cr-respondent

453 P.3d 749
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 2, 2019
Docket77807-2
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 453 P.3d 749 (State Of Washington, Respondent/cr-appellant v. Jesse Randall Ackerman, Appellant/cr-respondent) 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
State Of Washington, Respondent/cr-appellant v. Jesse Randall Ackerman, Appellant/cr-respondent, 453 P.3d 749 (Wash. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 77807-2-I

Respondent, DIVISION ONE

v. OPINION PUBLISHED IN PART

JESSE RANDALL ACKERMAN,

Appellant. FILED: December 2, 2019

CHUN, J. — The State charged Ackerman with second degree murder. At

trial, Ackerman claimed self-defense. The trial court did not give the pattern jury

instruction, WPIC 16.03,1 regarding “Justifiable Homicide — Resistance to

Felony.” Instead, it modified the instruction by replacing “felony” with “violent

felony” and gave an additional instruction that “Robbery is a felony.” The trial

court also modified the pattern instruction by adding a requirement that the

“slayer reasonably believed that the violent felony threatens imminent danger of

death or great personal injury[.]” The jury convicted Ackerman as charged.

In the published portion of this opinion, we hold that the jury instructions

failed to make the law of self-defense manifestly apparent to the average juror.

Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

‘11 WASHINGTON PRACTICE: WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS: CRIMINAL 16.03 (4th ed. 2016) (WPIC). No. 77807-2-1/2

In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we conclude that (1) the State

violated CrR 3.1 by not advising Ackerman of his right to an attorney immediately

upon his arrest, (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the

videotape depicting Ackerman in handcuffs, and (3) the trial court’s comments,

as well as the admission of Ackerman’s statements, regarding his potential

sentence constituted error.

I. BACKGROUND2

On December 9, 2016, Ackerman drove to Erica Rogers’s home to sell

heroin to her. When Ackerman arrived, he parked his Mustang outside her

house. The two then smoked heroin in the car. Afterwards, Rogers left and

Ackerman smoked a cigarette. Ackerman fell asleep in his car for around two to

three hours.

Susan Keating, one of Rogers’s neighbors, saw the Mustang parked on

the street as she arrived home. Keating noticed that the car’s right turn signal,

windshield wipers, and headlights were on and that the engine was running.

About 40 minutes later, when Keating got back in her vehicle, she saw the

Mustang in the same condition. Keating honked at the Mustang as she drove by.

The driver did not respond. Keating called 911.

After speaking with 911, Keating called her daughter, Julie Presteen, who

lived with her and was at home. Keating asked Presteen if she knew who owned

2 This opinion discusses additional facts and procedural history in the Analysis section below where pertinent.

2 No. 77807-2-1/3

the Mustang. Presteen said she did not know. Keating told Presteen that the

police were on their way.

Presteen then texted Rogers saying that if she knew the owner of the

Mustang, she should tell them to leave because Presteen’s mother had called

the police. Presteen also told her boyfriend, Ryan Osborne, about the Mustang

and her mother calling the police. Osborne also lived at Keating’s house.

Rogers called Ackerman but he did not answer his phone. As Rogers was

out shopping, she texted Presteen that she should wake Ackerman.

According to Presteen, Osborne left the home to tell Ackerman that the

police were coming. She went outside to smoke a cigarette on the driveway of

her home. Presteen saw Osborne standing at the driver’s door of the Mustang.

She then saw Osborne running back towards the house in a “zigzag” pattern.

She next heard a “loud pop.” Presteen lost sight of Osborne momentarily and

then saw him lying on the ground. Ackerman had shot Osborne.

Presteen ran to Osborne. She turned him onto his back, held him in her

arms, and tried to wake him. Presteen testified that Ackerman got “right in [her]

face” and said, “Oh, he’s all right. He’s going to be all right.” Presteen asked

Ackerman “what the fuck he did” and told him to “[g]et away.” She said

Ackerman then “took off.” Presteen yelled at Osborne’s mother, who also lived

with them, to call 911.

The bullet had traveled through Osborne’s back and struck his lungs and

aorta. Osborne lost consciousness within seconds and died within minutes of

being shot.

3 No. 77807-2-1/4

The State charged Ackerman with second degree murder with a firearm

allegation. Ackerman claimed self-defense.

At trial, Ackerman testified as follows: After falling asleep in his car, he

“sensed movement” and woke up to Osborne pointing a gun at him. Osborne

demanded he hand over “whatever” he had or be shot. Osborne then reached

through the open driver’s-side window to grab a bag of heroin and a money clip

off of the dashboard and pushed Ackerman back. Ackerman believed Osborne

saw he had a gun when Osborne pushed him back. Osborne then hit him on the

side of the head with Osbourne’s own gun. In response, Ackerman opened his

car door and hit Osborne with it. Osborne turned away from him. Ackerman

heard Osborne slide the rack on his gun as if preparing to shoot. Ackerman fired

his gun at Osborne. He was not sure whether the bullet had struck Osborne. As

Ackerman approached, Presteen ran to Osborne. Presteen crouched down,

picked up Osborne’s gun, and yelled, “What the fuck did you do? Get out of

here.” Ackerman then put his hands up, backed away, and drove off in his car.

On October 5, 2017, the jury convicted Ackerman as charged. Ackerman

appeals.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Jury Instructions

Ackerman argues that the trial court erred by inaccurately instructing the

jury on self-defense. The State contends that Ackerman waived this objection

and that his claim lacks merit. We reject the State’s waiver argument and

4 No. 77807-2-1/5

conclude that the trial court erred by giving instructions that failed to make the

self-defense standard manifestly apparent to the average juror.

1. Waiver

The State asserts that Ackerman waived his right to challenge the jury

instructions on appeal because “[t]he defendant did not object or take exception

to Instruction 23 (WPIC 16.03) . . . as given to the jury.” We determine that

Ackerman may raise the issue on appeal.

Even if a party fails to raise an issue below, RAP 2.5(a)(3) permits us to

review an alleged manifest error that affects a constitutional right. State v.

Sublett, 176 Wn.2d 58, 78, 292 P.3d 715 (2012). We analyze unpreserved

claims of error regarding self-defense instructions on a case-by-case basis to

determine whether they constitute a manifest constitutional error. State v.

O’Hara, 167 Wn.2d 91, 104, 217 P.3d 756 (2009). “To determine whether

manifest constitutional error was committed there must be a plausible showing by

the appellant that the asserted error had practical and identifiable

consequences.” State v. A.M., 194 Wn.2d 33, 38, 448 P.3d 35 (2019) (internal

quotation marks and citation omitted). An appellant meets this requirement if

they make a plausible showing that the error resulted in actual prejudice. A.M.,

194 Wn.2d at 38.

Here, Ackerman challenges Instructions 23 and 24, claiming they enabled

an erroneous interpretation regarding the requirements of self-defense. He

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