State Of Washington, V. Mark Hensley

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 27, 2024
Docket57518-3
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V. Mark Hensley (State Of Washington, V. Mark Hensley) 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. Mark Hensley, (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

February 27, 2024

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 57518-3-II

Respondent,

v.

MARK THOMAS HENSLEY, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant.

GLASGOW, C.J.—Mark Hensley was convicted of felony harassment for threatening to kill

a Clark County Superior Court judge. After Hensley appealed his judgment and sentence, the

United States Supreme Court decided Counterman v. Colorado,1 which refined the standard for

determining whether a defendant’s statement is a true threat lacking First Amendment protection.

Hensley argues that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction, that his

conviction violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that the trial court

violated CrR 3.2 by failing to consider the factors required to overcome the presumption of release

on personal recognizance and imposing excessive bail.

We conclude that Hensley’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence fails.

Nevertheless, we hold that Hensley’s conviction violated the First Amendment because the jury

instructions allowed the jury to convict him without finding that he had the subjective intent

1 __ U.S. __, 143 S. Ct. 2106, 216 L. Ed. 2d 775 (2023). No. 57518-3-II

Counterman requires. Due to conflicting testimony at trial about Hensley’s mental state, this error

was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We therefore reverse Hensley’s conviction and

remand for a new trial. We decline to review Hensley’s CrR 3.2 claims because we cannot provide

effective relief, and Hensley’s arguments do not raise issues of continuing and substantial public

interest that warrant review despite mootness.

FACTS

At a Costco store in Clark County, Washington, Mark Hensley told a store manager,

“[R]ight now, there is a legitimate death threat that I have made to assassinate [a specific judge]

in Clark County of the Washington State Superior Court. I don’t want to do that. But I’m willing

to do that.” Verbatim Rep. of Proc. (VRP) at 203. Hensley recorded the conversation and later

emailed the recording to the store manager, who turned it over to law enforcement. “[T]wo or

three” sources advised the judge of the threat. VRP at 208.

Law enforcement called Hensley the next day. A sergeant asked Hensley if he had made

threats to the judge. Hensley responded that the sergeant was “up to speed.” VRP at 217. Hensley

said he would kill someone in one day if he was not taken seriously.

Hensley later apologized to the judge by posting a video on YouTube. In the video, Hensley

said, “It seems that I was wandering around the Camas Costco and telling everybody that I was

going to shoot [the judge].” VRP at 221.

The State charged Hensley with felony harassment.2 Hensley was released from custody

March 5, 2021, on supervised release.

2 The State also charged Hensley with gross misdemeanor harassment in connection with a separate incident. The State later dropped that charge.

2 No. 57518-3-II

A day later, Hensley allegedly entered a Fred Meyer store, threatened to stab someone,

threw a knife at an employee, and stole four cans of whipped cream. Hensley allegedly said that if

he were to return to the store, he would bring a firearm and use it against store employees and

customers.

Law enforcement arrested Hensley based on the incident. Hensley was again released from

custody on supervised release, but law enforcement arrested him four days later after he allegedly

threatened to kill his roommate. Hensley was then declared incapable of assisting in his own

defense. Hensley underwent competency restoration.

The judge testified for the State at the trial on the felony harassment charge that was based

on the threat to assassinate him. The judge said that once he learned about Hensley’s threat, he

began paying attention to whether he was being followed while driving home, varied his route

instead of driving home the same way, placed Hensley’s picture on his refrigerator for more than

a year, told his family to call 911 if they saw Hensley, and made sure his judicial assistant was

aware of the threat and Hensley’s physical description. During cross-examination, defense counsel

asked the judge if he recalled “expressing fear” to the State’s investigator, and the judge responded,

“Yeah, I think I said I was, you know, cautiously concerned or something of that nature.” VRP at

213. The judge described several prior interactions where Hensley “seem[ed] to be in a different

kind of state of mind” depending on the day, with several instances where Hensley’s behavior was

“aggressive” and “inappropriate.” VRP at 210.

The executive director for the National Alliance of Mental Illness Southwest Washington

testified for Hensley. She said she knew Hensley personally and was aware he had Tourette

Syndrome. She said she spoke with Hensley on the day he made the threat against the judge, and

3 No. 57518-3-II

“he was not doing well at all.” VRP at 242. “His thinking was not on track and . . . his speech was

manifesting [in] very rapid and non-sensible ways.” Id.

Hensley also testified. He confirmed that he had Tourette Syndrome. He said his symptoms

included “vocal outbursts,” “non-sensical speech,” and “impulsivity issues,” and he was

experiencing those symptoms on the day he made the threat against the judge. VRP at 246. In

explaining why he made the threat, Hensley gave a number of reasons. He said it is “universally

understood that you can get psychiatric treatment . . . if you’re a threat to yourself or a threat to

somebody else,” and he “was trying to figure out how to get [himself] arrested” so that he could

get treatment. VRP at 250. He added, “[A] threat is benign, especially one that is just so over the

top or absolutely ridiculous.” Id. He explained that he chose to threaten the judge instead of “a

general person” because the judge knew him, knew he “had dealt with mental health issues,” and

knew he was nonviolent and not a threat. Id.

During closing arguments, defense counsel highlighted the fact that Hensley had Tourette

Syndrome, arguing that Hensley had experienced a mental health crisis that caused him to make

statements he later regretted. Defense counsel pointed to Hensley’s apology video as evidence of

the fact that Hensley was not aware of his actions when he made the threat, arguing that Hensley

“was delusional and in a manic state.” VRP at 279. To that end, defense counsel argued that

Hensley made egregious statements because he wanted to go to “jail to stabilize his mental health,”

not because he actually intended to kill the judge. VRP at 280.

The trial court instructed jurors that, to convict Hensley, they had to find that Hensley

“knowingly threatened to kill [the judge] immediately or in the future.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at

122. They also had to find that Hensley’s words or conduct placed the judge “in reasonable fear

4 No. 57518-3-II

that the threat to kill would be carried out.” Id. The trial court further instructed jurors that, to be

a true threat, a statement must occur under “circumstances where a reasonable person, in the

position of the speaker, would foresee that the statement . . . would be interpreted as a serious

expression of intention to carry out the threat rather than as something said in jest or idle talk.” CP

at 124.

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