State Of Washington v. Onelio Abun Cardona Hernandez

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided April 16, 2018·No. 76074-2·Unpublished

Opinion

GOURT i.IF- APPEALS DIV I ,S1ATE OF WASHINGTON

2018 APR 16 AM 8:35

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 76074-2-1

Respondent,

V. DIVISION ONE

ONELIO CARDONA-HERNANDEZ, UNPUBLISHED OPINION Appellant. FILED: April 16, 2018

LEACH, J. — Onelio Cardona-Hernandez appeals the high-end standard range sentence and conditions of community custody the trial court imposed after his conviction for second degree rape. He claims that the sentence was a "penalty" that violates his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.1 Because Cardona-Hernandez voluntarily spoke at his sentencing and the sentence falls within the standard range, we affirm the trial court. Because a condition prohibiting Cardona-Hernandez from entering sex-related businesses is not sufficiently related to his conviction, we remand to strike the condition and otherwise affirm.

BACKGROUND

The trial court convicted Cardona-Hernandez of rape in the second degree and two counts of burglary in the first degree with sexual motivation. Cardona-

1 U.S. CONST. amend. V.

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Hernandez also pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of criminal trespass in the first degree with sexual motivation.

At sentencing, Cardona-Hernandez faced a standard range for the rape conviction of 146 to 194 months. For the two counts of burglary, he faced a standard range of 57 to 75 months. The State recommended the high end of the standard range for the rape conviction. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court told Cardona-Hernandez that he had the right of allocution but that he also had the "absolute right to say nothing." Cardona-Hernandez chose to speak. He explained that he refused to plead guilty and take a plea offer because he was innocent.

After Cardona-Hernandez's statement, the trial court imposed the high-end term, 194 months,for the second degree rape. The trial court considered a number of factors before deciding to impose the high-end term. These included (1) the defense's argument of lack of relative force,(2) the nature of the crime, including exploiting his employer for the purpose of victimizing, (3) the nature of the crime scene (located in the University District which is a place offreedom and innocence where the defendant undoubtedly observed vulnerability), (4) the vulnerability of the victim given her infirmity, and (5) "the defendant's apparent lack of remorse and choice here rather than to apologize, to use this as an opportunity to cross- examine one of his rape victims."

The trial court sentenced Cardona-Hernandez to 66 months on the two counts of burglary, concurrent with his sentence for the rape count. The trial court also imposed lifetime community custody after Cardona-Hernandez's release.

No. 76074-2-1/ 3

Cardona-Hernandez appeals.

ANALYSIS

Standard Range Sentence

Cardona-Hernandez challenges the standard sentence range for the rape conviction. Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA),2 a criminal defendant generally may not appeal the imposition of the standard sentence range.3 But a defendant may appeal a standard range sentence when a sentencing court does not comply with procedural requirements of the SRA or constitutional requirements.4 Cardona-Hernandez contends that the trial court violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by considering his "remorseless" allocution when imposing the high end of the standard range sentence. The Fifth Amendment prevents a person from being "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."5 A defendant may assert the right against self- incrimination in any proceeding, "civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings."6 This includes a sentencing hearing.7

2 Ch. 9.94 RCW.

3 RCW 9.94A.585(1).

4 State v. Osman, 157 Wn.2d 474, 481-82, 139 P.3d 334 (2006).

5 U.S. CONST. amend. V; see McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S. 24, 35, 122 S. Ct.

2017, 153 L. Ed. 2d 47(2002).

6 Lefkowitz v. Turley,414 U.S. 70,77,94S. Ct. 316,38 L. Ed.2d 274(1973).

7 See Mitchell v. United States, 526 U.S. 314, 325-27, 119 S. Ct. 1307, 143 L. Ed. 2d 424(1999).

No. 76074-2-1 /4

But no one compelled Cardona-Hernandez to speak. The trial court told Cardona-Hernandez that he had the right to allocution and the right to remain silent. The judge's advice eliminates any claim of any compulsion to self- incrimination.8 Cardona-Hernandez chose to speak after the court told him he could remain silent. By choosing to speak, he waived his Fifth Amendment right.

"Trial courts may not use a defendant's silence or continued denial of guilt as a basis for justifying an exceptional sentence."8 Here, the parties concede that no Washington case law directly addresses the issue of whether a court can consider a denial of guilt when imposing a standard range sentence. Cardona- Hernandez relies on a Montana decision, State v. Shreves.1° There,the defendant maintained his innocence throughout the trial and chose to remain silent during sentencing.11 The trial court imposed the 100-year sentence recommended by the State.12 The trial court imposed this sentence in large part due to the defendant's lack of remorse and equated the defendant's silence to a lack of remorse.13 The Montana Supreme Court held that the trial court "improperly penalized Shreves for maintaining his innocence pursuant to his constitutional right to remain silent."14 But the court also made clear that a trial court can consider a defendant's lack of

United States v. Washington, 431 U.S. 181, 188,97 S. Ct. 1814,52 L. Ed.

8

2d 238 (1977)(stating when a respondent was explicitly advised of the right to remain silent, "This advice also eliminated any possible compulsion to self- incrimination which might otherwise exist.").

9 State v. Garibav, 67 Wn. App. 773, 782, 841 P.2d 49(1992).

19 2002 MT 333, 313 Mont. 252,60 P.3d 991.

11 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, ¶ 6.

12 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, ¶ 3.

13 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, 1120.

14 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, 1120.

No. 76074-2-1 / 5

remorse during pretrial, at trial, or posttrial as a sentencing factor.15 But the court prohibited a sentencing court from drawing "a negative inference of lack of remorse from the defendant's silence at sentencing where he has maintained, throughout the proceedings, that he did not commit the offense of which he stands convicted."16 We distinguish Shreves. Cardona-Hernandez did not remain silent at sentencing. So the trial court did not penalize him by drawing an impermissible inference from his silence. Cardona-Hernandez cites no authority for the proposition that the trial court must ignore the content of his allocution statement when imposing sentence. Once Cardona-Hernandez chose to speak, the Fifth Amendment did not require that the trial court ignore what he had to say.

For an additional reason to affirm, the State relies on United States v.

Klotz,17 where the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals established that a sentence within the federal sentencing guidelines is not presumed to be a penalty. The defendant in Klotz wanted the court to set the lower limit as the benchmark and to find a higher sentence within the range as a penalty." The "range itself is the apt starting point, and choices within the range cannot readily be assigned particular causes."19 The court stated it was proper to impose a sentence which was near the upper limit of the guidelines range, based in part on the refusal of the defendant

15 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, ¶ 21.

16 Shreves, 2002 MT 333, ¶ 22.

17 943 F.2d 707, 710-11 (7th Cir. 1991).

18 Klotz, 943 F.2d at 710.

19 Klotz, 943 F.2d at 710.

No. 76074-2-1 /6

to assist authorities in investigations, and did not penalize the defendant for exercising his constitutional right to remain silent.23 Because we conclude that no Fifth Amendment violation occurred, we do not address the State's argument.

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