State Of Washington v. Anthony Tyrone Clark

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided November 3, 2015·No. 45203-1·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

November 3, 2015

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 45203-1-II

Respondent, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

v.

ANTHONY T. CLARK,

Appellant.

BJORGEN, J. — Anthony Clark appeals his convictions for residential burglary, third

degree theft, and third degree malicious mischief. Clark contends that the trial court abused its

discretion when it (1) refused to order a second competency hearing after his attorney

represented to the court that Clark was unable to assist in his defense, (2) failed to accommodate

his developmental disabilities by not ordering a continuance to enable Clark to enlist the services

of a cognitive aide, and (3) excluded expert testimony about Clark’s suggestibility and the

consequent possibility that he had falsely confessed. Alternatively, Clark argues that (4) the trial

court erred by imposing conditions of probation after sentencing him to the maximum term for

the third degree theft and malicious mischief convictions.

We hold that (1) the trial court exercised its discretion on tenable grounds when it refused

to order a second competency hearing given the record before it, (2) any error in denying the

continuance was constitutionally harmless, (3) any error in excluding the expert’s testimony was

also constitutionally harmless, and (4) the trial court erred when it purported to impose No. 45203-1-II

conditions of probation after sentencing Clark to the maximum term of confinement for the third

degree theft and malicious mischief convictions. Consequently, we affirm Clark’s convictions,

but remand with orders to strike the erroneous conditions of probation.

FACTS

I. THE BREAK-IN AND THE INVESTIGATION

In April 2010, Patricia Conine returned from work to find a crime scene in her apartment.

Burglars had forced open a ground floor window, entered her apartment, ransacked it, and taken

Conine’s personal property, including a cell phone, a digital video disc player, jewelry, and loose

change.

Conine called police. Forensic investigators processed the scene and found two prints of

note. They discovered the first, a fingerprint, on a screen removed from the window used to

enter Conine’s apartment. They found the second, a palm print, on Conine’s television. The

television, which Conine had bought less than two months before, had been moved during the

break-in.

Soon thereafter, at nearby Lincoln High School, several students bragged about having

committed the burglary. This group included Clark and Hector Escobar. Clark displayed

jewelry he claimed the group had taken during the robbery; other group members also showed

off allegedly stolen property. The bragging came to the attention of Lincoln High School’s

resource officer, who alerted Tacoma police.

Detective Robert Baker, who was investigating a different burglary possibly involving

Clark, contacted him. Clark admitted he had helped Escobar and others burglarize “a grayish

apartment.” III Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) at 274-76. Clark explained that after

they decided to burglarize the apartment when walking by, Escobar proceeded to remove the

2 No. 45203-1-II

window screen. Clark then crawled through the window, unlocked the apartment door to let the

others in, and then stood as the burglars’ “lookout.” III VRP at 277. Baker then asked Clark to

take him to the residence that Clark burglarized. At this point, Baker did not know that the

Conine burglary had been reported.

Clark showed Baker the apartment he had helped to burglarize and the window he had

used to enter the apartment. Clark and Baker returned to Lincoln High School where Clark gave

a recorded statement about the incident.

The State charged Clark with one count of residential burglary in violation of RCW

9A.52.025, one count of third degree malicious mischief in violation of RCW 9A.48.090(1)(b)

and .090(2)(c), and one count of third degree theft in violation of RCW 9A.56.020(1) and

.050(1), (2).

II. THE COMPETENCY PROCEEDING BEFORE JUDGE CUTHBERTSON1

The question of Clark’s competency to stand trial was a major focus of the pretrial

proceedings in his case. Clark’s counsel moved for a competency evaluation shortly after the

State filed charges, and the trial court ordered an evaluation at Western State Hospital. After that

evaluation, the parties contested the issue of Clark’s competence to stand trial during a multiple

day hearing before Judge Cuthbertson.

Dr. Ray Hendrickson, who had evaluated Clark at Western State Hospital, testified for

the State at the competency hearing. Hendrickson testified that Clark had no symptoms of “a

major mental illness,” but showed moderate developmental disabilities. VRP (May 11, 2012) at

34-35, 49. However, Hendrickson testified that Clark was high functioning such that his

1 Clark’s case proceeded before Judges Cuthbertson, Nelson, McCarthy, Chushcoff, and Hickman. We refer to the trial court using the judge’s name for clarity.

3 No. 45203-1-II

developmental disabilities could more properly be classified as mild in effect. In fact,

Hendrickson testified that Clark demonstrated a capacity for abstract reasoning and its

application to his case. Hendrickson also testified that, during his evaluation of Clark, Clark

demonstrated an understanding of the legal process, legal concepts, and the charges against him.

Clark’s attorney sat in on the evaluation, and Hendrickson watched the two interact, allowing

Hendrickson to opine that Clark could communicate with his attorney, work with her, and assist

her in his defense. Hendrickson also testified that Clark had shown that his disabilities did not

render him suggestible to verbal or nonverbal signals from those asking him questions, although

Hendrickson admitted that he did not specifically test for suggestibility. Finally, Hendrickson

testified that Clark did not require trial accommodations any more than the typical defendant.

Dr. Brent O’Neal testified for Clark at the competency hearing. O’Neal testified that he

measured Clark as having a low intelligence quotient associated with mild retardation. Other

tests performed by O’Neal indicated that Clark’s “language skills in general [were] markedly

deficient.” VRP (May 30, 2012) at 75. Nevertheless, O’Neal testified that Clark was competent

to stand trial. However, O’Neal testified that Clark’s developmental disabilities rendered him

highly susceptible to verbal or nonverbal cues from people, leading him to be untruthful under

questioning. O’Neal also testified that Clark’s verbal difficulties would require accommodations

at trial; specifically, giving Clark additional time to communicate with his attorney and limiting

the manner in which he was cross-examined.

In his oral ruling, Judge Cuthbertson stated:

I’m going to find, Mr.

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