State of Washington v. Kayden Ray Chisum

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 18, 2025
Docket40913-9
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Washington v. Kayden Ray Chisum (State of Washington v. Kayden Ray Chisum) 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. Kayden Ray Chisum, (Wash. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

FILED DECEMBER 18, 2025 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STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) No. 40913-9-III ) Respondent, ) ) v. ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) KAYDEN RAY CHISUM, ) ) Appellant. )

MURPHY, J. — Kayden Ray Chisum appeals from his convictions for first degree

rape of a child and first degree child molestation. He was charged and convicted in adult

court after a jury trial.

On June 6, 2024, legislative amendments took effect to various statutes on

juvenile court jurisdiction found in the Juvenile Justice Act, chapter 13.40 RCW, and

Basic Juvenile Court Act, chapter 13.04 RCW. See LAWS OF 2024, ch. 117. Former

RCW 13.40.300 (2019) was amended such that juvenile court jurisdiction was expanded,

with several exceptions, to include any individual: 1) under the age of 21 at the time of

the filing of the information, and 2) accused of committing a criminal offense that

occurred when the individual was under the age of 18. The legislature specifically

provided that these statutory changes would apply to cases pending on the effective date No. 40913-9-III State v. Chisum

of the amendments. LAWS OF 2024, ch. 117, § 5(2). Chisum was born in late March

2001. 1 On February 25, 2022, when Chisum was 20 years old, he was charged in Chelan

County Superior Court with offense conduct that was alleged to have occurred when he

was 13 to 15 years old.

Chisum assigns error as follows: (1) his case was improperly tried in adult court

in violation of statutory changes requiring that the charged offenses be adjudicated

through juvenile court, (2) insufficient consideration of the mitigating effects of youth

at sentencing, (3) improper admittance at trial of hearsay and demeanor evidence,

(4) prosecutorial misconduct, and (5) ineffective assistance of counsel.

We agree that once the amendments to RCW 13.40.300 became effective on June

6, 2024, the juvenile court held exclusive jurisdiction over Chisum’s case. We reverse

Chisum’s convictions and remand for the judgment and sentence to be vacated with his

case transferred to juvenile court for adjudication. In light of this disposition, it is not

necessary to review Chisum’s other assignments of error.

FACTS

Because our review is focused on a specific question of law, recitation of the

underlying facts is abbreviated. When Chisum was a teenager, he babysat his cousins

1 Because juvenile jurisdiction is at issue in this case, Chisum’s date of birth, age at the times of the alleged offense conduct, and age when the charges were filed are relevant to our review.

2 No. 40913-9-III State v. Chisum

T.P. and B.P. 2 In 2021, T.P. and B.P. disclosed Chisum had sexually abused them. These

acts were alleged to have occurred between January 1, 2015, and January 1, 2017, at

which time Chisum was between 13 to 15 years old and both T.P. and B.P. were under

the age of 12. On February 25, 2022, when Chisum was 20 years old, he was charged

with one count each of first degree rape of a child and first degree child molestation.

Chisum was prosecuted in adult court without a hearing on the question of

declining jurisdiction. At the time the case was initiated, the charged offenses were not

auto-decline offenses and were not classified to prompt a discretionary decline hearing.

In adult court, Chisum exercised his right to a jury trial. His first trial ended in a mistrial.

Chisum’s case proceeded to trial for a second time on November 19, 2024. The jury

found Chisum guilty as charged. Chisum was sentenced at the low end of the standard

sentencing range for each count, 120 months on the first degree rape of a child conviction

and 67 months on the first degree child molestation conviction, to be served concurrently,

followed by 36 months of community custody.

Chisum now appeals.

2 To protect the privacy interests of the minor children, we use their first and last name initials throughout the body of this opinion. Gen. Order 2012-1 of Division III, In re Use of Initials or Pseudonyms for Child Victims or Child Witnesses (Wash. Ct. App. June 18, 2012), https://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/?fa=atc.genorders_ orddisp&ordnumber=2012_001&div=III.

3 No. 40913-9-III State v. Chisum

ANALYSIS

1. Standard of review

We review jurisdictional challenges de novo. In re Marriage of Shortway, 4 Wn.

App. 2d 409, 418, 423 P.3d 270 (2018). Whether a particular court has jurisdiction is a

question of law. Young v. Clark, 149 Wn.2d 130, 132, 65 P.3d 1192 (2003).

In interpreting a statute, “this court looks first to its plain language.” State v.

Armendariz, 160 Wn.2d 106, 110, 156 P.3d 201 (2007). “If the plain language is subject

to only one interpretation, our inquiry ends because plain language does not require

construction.” HomeStreet, Inc. v. Dep’t of Revenue, 166 Wn.2d 444, 451, 210 P.3d 297

(2009). “If the statutory language is both plain and unambiguous, the meaning we give

the statute must be derived from the statutory language itself.” In re Adoption of T.A.W.,

186 Wn.2d 828, 840, 383 P.3d 492 (2016). “To ascertain the statute’s plain meaning,

we may examine (1) the entirety of the statute in which the disputed provision is found,

(2) related statutes, or (3) other provisions within the same act.” Id. (citing Dep’t of

Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wn.2d 1, 10, 43 P.3d 4 (2002)).

2. Statutory changes to juvenile jurisdiction

A new law took effect on June 6, 2024, with the legislature amending various

statutes on juvenile court jurisdiction found in the Juvenile Justice Act and Basic Juvenile

Court Act. LAWS OF 2024, ch. 117. Extensive revisions were made to RCW 13.40.300

4 No. 40913-9-III State v. Chisum

relating to the commitment of a juvenile to a rehabilitation facility and to the jurisdiction

of the juvenile court over an individual after their 18th birthday. The following section

that was added to the statute is particularly relevant to our review:

(2)(a) The juvenile court has jurisdiction over, and may place an individual under the authority of the department [of children, youth and families] in the following circumstances: (i) Except as provided under RCW 13.04.030 and 13.40.110, when the individual is under the age of 21 at the time of the filing of the information and is accused of committing a criminal offense that occurred when the individual was under the age of 18 . . . .

RCW 13.40.300

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