State of Washington v. Jeremey Douglas Pedersen

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided August 31, 2021·No. 37538-2·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

AUGUST 31, 2021

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

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

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 37538-2-III )

Respondent, )

)

v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

JEREMEY DOUGLAS PEDERSEN, )

)

Appellant. )

PENNELL, C.J. — Jeremy Pedersen appeals his conviction for first degree child rape. We affirm the conviction but remand for resentencing.

FACTS

In 2018, 12-year-old N.R. told her grandmother she had been molested six years earlier by her mother’s boyfriend, Jeremy Pedersen. The grandmother immediately called N.R.’s mother about the disclosure. N.R.’s mother then contacted law enforcement and Detective Stephen Evitt conducted a forensic interview with N.R. The State charged Mr. Pedersen with one count of first degree child molestation and one count of first degree child rape.

Mr. Pedersen was initially represented by court-appointed counsel. At arraignment, he was informed of the maximum penalties of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine on both

State v. Pedersen

charges. Together with his court-appointed attorney, Mr. Pedersen reviewed and signed an acknowledgement of advice of rights that restated the maximum penalty for his charges.

Subsequent to arraignment, Mr. Pedersen advised the court he wished to represent himself. Mr. Pedersen indicated he was satisfied with his attorney, but he thought he could better show the jurors who he was through self-representation. The trial court engaged Mr. Pedersen in a lengthy colloquy regarding his rights and the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation. The court advised Mr. Pedersen of the standard sentencing range he could face upon conviction. The court did not reiterate the statutory maximum terms of incarceration. The court ended the colloquy by giving Mr. Pedersen several days to reconsider his request for self-representation. Mr. Pedersen subsequently confirmed he wished to proceed pro se. The court accepted this position and appointed Mr. Pedersen’s existing attorney as standby counsel.

Prior to trial, the State filed an amended information adding two sentencing aggravators to each of the charges.1 The amended information stated the maximum sentence of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. At a hearing, Mr. Pedersen indicated

1 The two aggravators were the particularly vulnerable victim aggravator as defined in RCW 9.94A.535(3)(b), and the position of trust aggravator as defined in RCW 9.94A.535(3)(n).

State v. Pedersen

he reviewed the amended information. At the trial court’s request, the State informed Mr. Pedersen the sentencing aggravators, if found by the jury, allowed the court to sentence him beyond his standard range.

At trial, the State elicited testimony from N.R., her mother, her grandmother, her cousin, Detective Evitt, and Jessica Johnson, an expert on sexual abuse. During his case in chief, Mr. Pedersen elicited testimony from N.R. and Detective Evitt. Mr. Pedersen did not testify.

The jury found Mr. Pedersen guilty of first degree child rape, but acquitted him of child molestation. The jury also found the two sentencing aggravators on the child rape charge.

At sentencing, Mr. Pedersen faced a standard range of 240 to 318 months’

imprisonment. Mr. Pedersen’s offender score was based in part on a prior conviction for possession of controlled substances. The trial court imposed an exceptional sentence of 342 months’ imprisonment, which was 24 months above the high end of the standard range. The court also imposed lifetime community custody and a $500 victim penalty assessment. The State represented that Mr. Pedersen was indigent and did not ask for any additional legal financial obligations. Nevertheless, Mr. Pedersen’s judgment and

State v. Pedersen

sentence states Mr. Pedersen is required to “pay supervision fees as determined by DOC [Department of Corrections]” while on community custody. Clerk’s Papers at 53.

Mr. Pedersen now appeals his conviction and sentence.

ANALYSIS

Waiver of right to counsel Individuals charged with crimes enjoy competing rights to counsel and self-

representation. State v. James, 138 Wn. App. 628, 635, 158 P.3d 102 (2007). The default is the right to counsel. In order for the right to counsel to give way to the right to self- representation, the trial court must ensure the waiver of counsel is “knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.” City of Bellevue v. Acrey, 103 Wn.2d 203, 208-09, 691 P.2d 957 (1984).

There is no set formula for assessing the validity of a waiver of counsel. James, 138 Wn. App. at 636. “[A]t a minimum” the defendant should be advised of “the seriousness of the charge, the possible maximum penalty involved, and the existence of technical, procedural rules governing the presentation of the accused’s defense.” State v. Silva, 108 Wn. App. 536, 539, 31 P.3d 729 (2001). The ultimate question is whether the defendant made an informed choice “with eyes open.” Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269, 279, 63 S. Ct. 236, 87 L. Ed. 268 (1942). We review a trial

State v. Pedersen

court’s decision regarding waiver of the right to counsel for abuse of discretion. In re Pers. Restraint of Rhome, 172 Wn.2d 654, 667, 260 P.3d 874 (2011).

Mr. Pedersen claims his counsel waiver was invalid because his colloquy with the trial court did not include advice regarding his statutory maximum term of incarceration. We are unpersuaded. While it would have been preferable for the trial court to review the statutory maximum penalty during the counsel-waiver colloquy, this was not required. Mr. Pedersen was advised of the statutory maximum term prior to his counsel waiver, during arraignment and through the advisement of rights form. Nothing in the record suggests Mr. Pedersen did not understand his maximum term of imprisonment. This case is therefore distinct from State v. Nordstrom, 89 Wn. App. 737, 744, 950 P.2d 946 (1997), where the defendant was never informed as to the maximum penalty and United States v. Erskine, 355 F.3d 1161, 1171 (9th Cir. 2004), where the defendant was misinformed as to the maximum penalty.

Mr. Pedersen also argues the court should have confirmed his desire for self-

representation after the State filed amended charges. This is not required by our case law. See State v. Modica, 136 Wn. App. 434, 445, 149 P.3d 446 (2006), aff’d, 164 Wn.2d 83, 186 P.3d 1062 (2008). Furthermore, the trial court revisited Mr. Pedersen’s desire to

State v. Pedersen

represent himself during a February 11, 2020 hearing. This was after the State filed the amended information but before trial.

Finally, Mr. Pedersen argues his constitutional rights were violated because he was erroneously advised he would waive his right to testify if he represented himself. The purported advice came during a CrR 3.5 hearing addressing the admissibility of Mr. Pedersen’s statements to police. The CrR 3.5 hearing took place after Mr. Pedersen waived his right to counsel. During the hearing, the prosecutor and the court had the following colloquy:

THE COURT: Does the State intend to introduce any of those statements?

[THE PROSECUTOR]: Potentially. I don’t know—Mr. Pedersen, obviously, can’t testify on his own behalf, if he’s going to be representing himself, so he’s going to need to—those statements—depending on—I don’t know. He could change his mind, between now and then, whether or not he wants an attorney. I don’t know. So the State needs to be prepared for everything.

So there are statements that are offered, that, if he changes his mind, day of trial, then I need to be prepared.

THE COURT: Okay.

1 Report of Proceedings (RP) (May 29, 2019) at 42-43.

The prosecutor clearly misspoke when she said Mr. Pedersen could not testify if he represented himself. However, Mr. Pedersen has not shown how this comment impacted any of his rights. During the trial court’s colloquies with Mr. Pedersen on self-

State v. Pedersen

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State of Washington v. Jeremey Douglas Pedersen, (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).

State of Washington v. Jeremey Douglas Pedersen (State of Washington v. Jeremey Douglas Pedersen) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Adams v. United States Ex Rel. McCann
317 U.S. 269 (Supreme Court, 1943)
Crawford v. Washington
541 U.S. 36 (Supreme Court, 2004)
United States v. Erik D. Erskine
355 F.3d 1161 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
State v. DeWeese
816 P.2d 1 (Washington Supreme Court, 1991)
State v. Madison
770 P.2d 662 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1989)
State v. Ammons
718 P.2d 796 (Washington Supreme Court, 2005)
City of Bellevue v. Acrey
691 P.2d 957 (Washington Supreme Court, 1984)
In Re the Personal Restraint of Rhome
260 P.3d 874 (Washington Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Emery
278 P.3d 653 (Washington Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Silva
31 P.3d 729 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2001)
State v. Modica
149 P.3d 446 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
State v. Willis
87 P.3d 1164 (Washington Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Silva
27 P.3d 663 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2001)
State v. Kirkman
155 P.3d 125 (Washington Supreme Court, 2007)
State v. James
158 P.3d 102 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
State Of Washington v. Daren M. Morales
196 Wash. App. 106 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2016)
State v. Burns
438 P.3d 1183 (Washington Supreme Court, 2019)
State Of Washington v. Jason Spaulding
476 P.3d 205 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2020)
State v. Blake
481 P.3d 521 (Washington Supreme Court, 2021)
State of Washington v. James William Cook
484 P.3d 13 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021)