State Of Washington v. B. A. W.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 28, 2015
Docket72299-9
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington v. B. A. W. (State Of Washington v. B. A. W.) 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. B. A. W., (Wash. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 72299-9-I Respondent, DIVISION ONE v.

B.A.W., UNPUBLISHED OPINION DOB: 08/18/2000,

Appellant. FILED: September 28, 2015

Appelwick, J — The State charged B.W. with rape of a child in the first

degree. The juvenile court found him guilty of attempted rape of a child in the first

degree and entered a sexual assault protection order. Because the attempt

adjudication was a lesser included offense, the court did not improperly convict B.W.

of an uncharged offense or violate his constitutional right to notice. We therefore

affirm the adjudication of guilt. We remand solely to permit the juvenile court to

correct the expiration date of the sexual assault protection order.

FACTS

The State charged B.W. with two counts of rape of a child in the first degree

and one count of child molestation in the first degree. Following an adjudication

hearing in July 2014, the juvenile court found B.W. not guilty on the child molestation

count and not guilty on one of the child rape counts. As to the second child rape No. 72299-9-1/2

count, the court concluded that the State had not proved sexual intercourse, but

found B.W. guilty of attempted rape of a child in the first degree.

B.W. moved to set aside the verdict, arguing that the juvenile court's

consideration of the lesser included attempt offense, without a request from either

party, interfered with the executive branch's charging authority and thereby violated

the separation of powers doctrine. The juvenile court denied the motion, concluding

that consideration of a lesser offense does not involve a charging decision.

The court initially imposed an exceptional manifest injustice disposition

downward, including 30 days of detention and 24 months of community supervision.

Based on the parties' stipulation, the court later rescinded the manifest injustice

disposition and imposed a standard range disposition of 15 to 36 weeks detention.

The court also entered a sexual assault protection order with an expiration date of

August 7, 2099.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, B.W. has abandoned his claim that the juvenile court violated the

separation of powers doctrine. Rather, he contends for the first time that the juvenile

court has authority to find a juvenile guilty of only the specific charged offense. He

argues that by finding him guilty of an uncharged lesser included offense, the juvenile

court violated the notice provisions of the Washington Constitution. He asserts that

his adjudication and disposition must therefore be reversed. No. 72299-9-1/3

An appellate court generally will not consider issues raised for the first time on

appeal unless the claimed error is a "manifest error affecting a constitutional right."

RAP 2.5(a); see generally State v. O'Hara. 167 Wn.2d 91, 97-98, 217 P.3d 756

(2009). To satisfy the requirements of RAP 2.5(a), an appellant must " 'identify a

constitutional error and show how the alleged error actually affected the [appellant's

rights at trial.' " O'Hara, 167 Wn.2d at 98 (alteration in original) (quoting State v.

Kirkman. 159 Wn.2d 918, 926-27, 155 P.3d 125 (2007)).

Under Washington Const, art. I, § 22, "the accused shall have the right... to

demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him." Generally, under this

provision, "a defendant can be tried and convicted only of crimes with which he or

she is charged." State v. Berlin. 133 Wn.2d 541, 544, 947 P.2d 700 (1997).

But, the defendant's constitutional right to notice "is only a right to be tried on a

charge 'contained in' the indictment or information." State v. Bandura. 85 Wn. App.

87, 95, 931 P.2d 174 (1997) (quoting Schmuck v. United States. 489 U.S. 705, 717,

109 S. Ct. 1443, 103 L. Ed. 2d 734 (1989)). The jury—or the judge in a bench trial —

may find the defendant guilty of a lesser included offense or a lesser degree offense

of any crimes included in the original information. See RCW 10.61.006 ("[T]he

defendant may be found guilty of an offense the commission of which is necessarily

included within that with which he or she is charged in the indictment or

information."); RCW 10.61.003 ("[F]or an offense consisting of different degrees, the

-3- No. 72299-9-1/4

jury may find the defendant. . . guilty of any degree inferior thereto, or of an attempt

to commit the offense.").

An attempt to commit the charged crime is also a lesser included offense.

State v. Galleqos. 65 Wn. App. 230, 234, 828 P.2d 37 (1992). RCW 10.61.010

states in part:

Upon the trial of an indictment or information, the defendant may be convicted of the crime charged therein, or of a lesser degree of the same crime, or of an attempt to commit the crime so charged, or of an attempt to commit a lesser degree of the same crime.

The lesser included offense statutes, which codify the common law rule, have

their origins in the 1854 Legislature of the Washington Territory. Berlin. 133 Wn.2d at

545. As early as 1894, our Supreme Court interpreted these statutes to encompass

the constitutional notice requirements:

Because the defendant must have notice of the offense of which he or she is charged, the elements of any lesser included offense must necessarily be included in the elements of the offense as charged. A defendant thus implicitly receives constitutionally sufficient notice.

Id,; see also State v. Ackles. 8 Wash. 462, 464-65, 36 P. 597 (1894). Because RCW

10.61.003, .006, and .010 provide the requisite constitutional notice, the State need

not expressly notify defendants that they may be convicted of lesser included or

lesser degree offenses. See State v. Pelkev. 109 Wn.2d 484, 487-88, 745 P.2d 854

(1987). The statutory exceptions apply equally to jury trials and bench trials. See

State v. Peterson. 133 Wn.2d 885, 892-93, 948 P.2d 381 (1997); In re Pers. No. 72299-9-1/5

Restraint of Heidari. 159 Wn. App. 601, 609-10, 248 P.3d 550 (2011), affd, 174

Wn.2d 288, 274 P.3d 366 (2012).

B.W. contends that unlike the adult criminal justice system, the juvenile court

has no authority to find a juvenile guilty of an uncharged lesser included offense. He

relies primarily on RCW 13.04.450:

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Related

Schmuck v. United States
489 U.S. 705 (Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Peterson
948 P.2d 381 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Bandura
931 P.2d 174 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1997)
State v. Gallegos
828 P.2d 37 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1992)
State v. Pelkey
745 P.2d 854 (Washington Supreme Court, 1987)
In Re the Personal Restraint of Heidari
274 P.3d 366 (Washington Supreme Court, 2012)
Buschmann v. Kennaugh
183 P.3d 1124 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
State v. Kirkman
155 P.3d 125 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. GAH
137 P.3d 66 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
State v. Berlin
947 P.2d 700 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Peterson
133 Wash. 2d 885 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Kirkman
159 Wash. 2d 918 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. O'Hara
167 Wash. 2d 91 (Washington Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Ackles
36 P. 597 (Washington Supreme Court, 1894)
State v. G.A.H.
133 Wash. App. 567 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
Buschmann v. Kennaugh
144 Wash. App. 776 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
In re the Personal Restraint of Heidari
159 Wash. App. 601 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
State v. E.C.
922 P.2d 152 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1996)

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