State Of Washington, V. James D. Griepsma, Jr.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 24, 2021
Docket79806-5
StatusUnpublished

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Bluebook
State Of Washington, V. James D. Griepsma, Jr., (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 79806-5-I Respondent, (consolidated w/80148-1-I)

v. DIVISION ONE

JAMES DAVID GRIEPSMA, JR., UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant.

In the Matter of the Postsentence Review of

JAMES DAVID GRIEPSMA, JR.,

Respondent.

SMITH, J. — A jury found James Griepsma Jr. guilty of six counts of third

degree assault and one count of third degree malicious mischief. Griepsma

appeals, contending that the court allowed jurors with actual bias to sit on the

jury, that the State failed to prove several of the assault charges, that the State

was required to charge him under a more specific statute, and that the State

failed to prove his criminal history. The Department of Corrections (DOC) filed a

postsentence petition, alleging that the court erred by not ordering community

custody. We conclude that the State properly charged and proved third degree

assault and that Griepsma has failed to establish juror bias. Therefore, we affirm

his convictions. However, we agree that the State failed to prove Griepsma’s

Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material. No. 79806-5-I/2

criminal history and that the court was required to impose community custody,

and we therefore remand for resentencing.

FACTS

In February 2018, after a bus driver asked Griepsma to get off a bus and

Griepsma refused, Griepsma got into a conflict with Skagit Transit employees at

a transit station in Mount Vernon. Police officers arrived, and in the subsequent

interaction, Griepsma punched the officers, resulting in charges for assault and

resisting arrest. While in the Skagit County Jail, Griepsma twice spit on a

corrections officer and, in one incident, swung a door at one corrections officer

and pushed a different officer’s head to the floor, leading to a concussion. The

State added several additional third degree assault charges for these incidents

on the basis that Griepsma had assaulted “a law enforcement officer or other

employee of a law enforcement agency.” The State also charged Griepsma with

two counts of second degree assault, one against an arresting officer and one

against a corrections officer. Finally, the State dismissed the resisting arrest

charge and added a charge for third degree malicious mischief.

At trial, Griepsma represented himself. The jury found him guilty of

malicious mischief and all but one of the third degree assault charges. The jury

left the verdict form blank for the other third degree assault charge and the two

second degree assault charges. The court determined that there was a mistrial

as to those three charges and dismissed them without prejudice.

At sentencing, the State alleged that Griepsma’s sentencing score was 9+,

and it recommended the maximum sentence of 60 months under the standard

2 No. 79806-5-I/3

range. The court ordered a midrange sentence of 55 months for each of the

assault charges, to be served concurrently, and it did not order community

custody. Griepsma appeals.

ANALYSIS

Griepsma contends that biased jurors sat on the jury, that the State

erroneously charged and failed to prove several counts of assault, and that the

State failed to prove Griepsma’s criminal history. DOC challenges the court’s

failure to impose community custody. Finally, Griepsma raises several additional

issues in a statement of additional grounds for review (SAG). 1

Juror Bias

Griepsma first contends that the court allowed jurors with actual bias to

serve on the jury and that therefore he is entitled to a new trial. We disagree.

An appellant may raise the issue of juror bias for the first time on appeal,

and if a juror exhibited actual bias, the appellant is entitled to a new trial. State v.

Irby, 187 Wn. App. 183, 192-93, 347 P.3d 1103 (2015). “The trial judge is in the

best position to evaluate whether a particular potential juror is able to be fair and

1 Griepsma also contends that the court erred by dismissing the second degree assault charges without prejudice instead of with prejudice. If “(1) the State charges a person with greater and lesser offenses and the jury is unable to agree regarding the greater offense but finds the defendant guilty of the lesser offense and (2) the defendant’s conviction for the lesser offense is reversed on appeal,” then recharging the greater offense does not violate double jeopardy. State v. Glasmann, 183 Wn.2d 117, 119, 349 P.3d 829 (2015). However, if the conviction for the lesser offense “‘is not overturned on appeal, the conviction, once final, terminates jeopardy.’” State v. Ervin, 158 Wn.2d 746, 758, 147 P.3d 567 (2006) (emphasis omitted) (quoting State v. Linton, 156 Wn.2d 777, 792, 132 P.3d 127 (2006) (Sanders, J., concurring)). Because we affirm Griepsma’s convictions for third degree assault, the second degree assault charges must be dismissed with prejudice on remand.

3 No. 79806-5-I/4

impartial based on observation of mannerisms, demeanor, and the like.” State v.

Gonzales, 111 Wn. App. 276, 278, 45 P.3d 205 (2002). We review the court’s

failure to dismiss a biased juror for a manifest abuse of discretion. Gonzales,

111 Wn. App. at 278.

Actual bias is “the existence of a state of mind on the part of the juror in

reference to the action, or to either party, which satisfies the court that the

challenged person cannot try the issue impartially and without prejudice to the

substantial rights of the party challenging.” RCW 4.44.170(2). However, even if

a juror appears to have formed an opinion, the court need not dismiss the juror

unless the court is “satisfied, from all the circumstances, that the juror cannot

disregard such opinion and try the issue impartially.” RCW 4.44.190 (emphasis

added); State v. Lawler, 194 Wn. App. 275, 281, 374 P.3d 278 (2016).

Here, Griepsma challenges the seating of five jurors for the first time on

appeal. First, he claims jurors 32 and 34 said that they expected Griepsma to

testify and “that they would hold his failure to testify against him.” This claim

arises from the following interaction during voir dire:

THE DEFENDANT: . . . Will -- would anyone here be disappointed if the Defendant does not present any evidence or burden of proof? .... NUMBER 21: Is he asking that since -- if the Defendant doesn’t say anything, that we won’t hold that against him? Is that the question? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, ma’am. NUMBER 21: Thank you. THE DEFENDANT: Does anyone expect me to testify?

Jurors 32 and 34, who were ultimately selected for the jury, raised their

hands to this last question. This exchange is significantly more ambiguous than

4 No. 79806-5-I/5

Griepsma contends. Griepsma’s questioning was somewhat confusing, so it is

unclear from the context whether the jurors were saying that they would hold a

failure to testify against him or simply whether they expected him to testify.

Because the court is in the best position to determine whether a juror is biased,

we defer to the court’s assessment of which question the jurors were responding

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