State Of Washington v. Anthony Thomas Waller

458 P.3d 817
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 24, 2020
Docket79793-0
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 458 P.3d 817 (State Of Washington v. Anthony Thomas Waller) 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 v. Anthony Thomas Waller, 458 P.3d 817 (Wash. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION ONE

THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 79793-0-I ) Appellant, ) v. ) PUBLISHED OPINION ) ANTHONY THOMAS WALLER, ) ) Respondent. ) FILED: February 24, 2020

SCHINDLER, J.P.T.* — Under RAP 2.2(b)(3), the State has the right in a criminal

case to appeal an order vacating a judgment. The State does not have the right to

appeal an order granting a CrR 7.8(b)(5) motion for relief from judgment requesting a

new sentencing hearing to consider the characteristics of youth at the time of the

offense. The State has the right to appeal only if following the hearing, the court

decides to vacate and amend the judgment and sentence. Under the plain and

unambiguous language of CrR 7.8(b), scheduling a new sentencing hearing “does not

affect the finality of the judgment or suspend its operation.” Because the

uncontroverted record establishes the court did not vacate and amend the judgment

and sentence, we dismiss the State’s appeal.

Conviction and Exceptional Aggravated Sentence

On January 17, 1999, 21-year-old Anthony Thomas WaIler and three friends

drove to an industrial area to drink beer. Wailer used a flathead screwdriver to break No. 79793-0-1/2

into vehicles and steal items. As the group was getting ready to leave, Wailer saw a

man in the distance. Wailer was worried the man saw him breaking into vehicles and

would remember the license plate number of their vehicle. Wailer got out of the vehicle

and told his friends he” ‘was going to go beat this guy’s ass.’ “1 Wailer chased after the

man. Wailer repeatedly stabbed the man in the eyes, face, and head more than 40

times with the flathead screwdriver. The man had “through-and-through” defensive

“stab wounds to the left hand.”2 But the “majority of the wounds were localized around”

his eyes.3 There were “at least seven separate penetrating stab wounds that went

through the eyes into the brain” that “could alone have been fataL”4 After killing the

man, Walier told his friends, “‘This is what happens. . . when people fuck with me.’ “~

Wailer told his fiancé that he had to leave Washington because he murdered

someone. In March 1999, the police arrested Wailer in Hawaii. WaIler waived his

Miranda6 rights. Wailer initially told the detectives that two of his friends killed the man

and that he did not participate in the attack. After the detectives confronted him with

evidence they had obtained, Wailer admitted that he killed the man and that “he was the

sole attacker,” but “claimed that he was ‘really drunk’ that night” and did not mean to kill

the man.7

A jury convicted Wailer of premeditated murder in the first degree. His standard

sentence range was 271 to 361 months. The State asked the court to impose an

1 State v. WaIler, 107 Wn. App. 1047, 2001 WL 919349, at *1. 2WaIler, 2001 WL919349, at*1. ~ Wailer, 2001 WL 919349, at *1. ~‘ WaIler, 2001 WL 919349, at *4

~ WaIler, 2001 WL 919349, at *1 (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). 6 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966).

7Waller, 2001 WL919349, at *2.

2 No. 79793-0-1/3

exceptional sentence based on the aggravating factor of deliberate cruelty. At the

sentencing hearing, Wailer criticized the police investigation, insisted he was innocent,

and blamed others for committing the crime.

The court imposed an exceptional sentence of 432 months. The court found

Wailer acted with premeditated intent to kill the victim by deliberately stabbing him in the

eyes, face, and head more than 40 times with a flathead screwdriver. The court found

the “sufficiently long” time it took to inflict the fatal stab wounds through the victim’s eyes

into his brain inflicted “extreme fear, pain[,] and suffering” on the victim before his death.

The findings state the extent and number of stab wounds were “gratuitous,” and the

comment WaIler made at the end of the attack “further evidenced his deliberate cruelty

and intent to perpetrate gratuitous violence” toward the victim. The court concluded the

“deliberate cruelty and gratuitous violence” justified the exceptional sentence.

We affirmed the conviction and imposition of the exceptional sentence based on

the aggravating factor of deliberate cruelty. Wailer, 2001 WL 919349, at *1. The

Washington Supreme Court denied review. State v. WaIler, 147 Wn.2d 1009, 56 P.3d

565 (2002). We issued the mandate on November 18, 2002.8

CrR 7.8(b)(5) Motion for Relief from Judgment

On March 8, 2018, WaIler filed a pro se motion for relief from judgment under

CrR 7.8(b)(5) requesting the court schedule a new sentencing hearing. CrR 7.8(b)(5)

permits the court to grant relief from judgment for “[amy other reason justifying relief.”

8 on November 18, 2005, Wailer filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. Wailer argued his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to raise intoxication as a diminished capacity defense, the exceptional sentence violated his United States Constitution Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, and statements to the police violated his United States Constitution Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. See Wailer v. Quinn, No. C05-1 904-MJP, 2006 WL 3230151, at *4..*5 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 6, 2006) (court order). The court denied the writ of habeas corpus with prejudice. Wailer, 2006 WL 3230151, at *7

3 No. 79793-0-1/4

“A vacation under subsection (5) is limited to extraordinary circumstances not covered

by any other section of the rule.” State v. Cortez, 73 Wn. App. 838, 841-42, 871 P.2d

660 (1994) (citing State v. Brand, 120 Wn.2d 365, 369, 842 P.2d 470 (1992)). CrR 7.8,

“Relief from Judgment or Order,” states, in pertinent part:

(b) Mistakes; Inadvertence; Excusable Neglect; Newly Discovered Evidence; Fraud; etc. On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons:

(5) Any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment. The motion. is further subject to RCW 10.73.090, .100, .130, . .

and .140. A motion under section (b) does not affect the finality of the judgment or suspend its operation. (c) Procedure on Vacation of Judgment. (1) Motion. Application shall be made by motion stating the grounds upon which relief is asked, and supported by affidavits setting forth a concise statement of the facts or errors upon which the motion is based. (2) Transfer to Court of Appeals. The court shall transfer a motion filed by a defendant to the Court of Appeals for consideration as a personal restraint petition unless the court determines that the motion is not barred by RCW 10.73.090 and either (i) the defendant has made a substantial showing that he or she is entitled to relief or (ii) resolution of the motion will require a factual hearing. (3) Order to Show Cause. If the court does not transfer the motion to the Court of Appeals, it shall enter an order fixing a time and place for hearing and directing the adverse party to appear and show cause why the relief asked for should not be granted.

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