State Of Washington v. Rickey A. Beaver

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 27, 2014
Docket70022-7
StatusPublished

This text of State Of Washington v. Rickey A. Beaver (State Of Washington v. Rickey A. Beaver) 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. Rickey A. Beaver, (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

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

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 70022-7-

Respondent,

v.

RICKEY A. BEAVER, PUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant. FILED: October 27, 2014

Verellen, A.C.J. —As a matter of due process, an individual who is found not

guilty by reason of insanity may be confined for treatment as long as he is both mentally

ill and dangerous. Once the acquittee has been found mentally ill, his insanity is

presumed to continue to exist. Because of this presumption, substantive due process

does not require a renewed finding of mental illness in order to revoke an insanity

acquittee's conditional release. Furthermore, procedural due process does not require

such a finding at a revocation hearing primarily because alternative procedures provide

acquittees with a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate sanity, thereby minimizing the

risk of erroneous commitment. For these reasons, Rickey Beaver has not established

that his due process rights were violated by the trial court's order revoking his

conditional release without a finding that his mental illness continued to exist.

Accordingly, we affirm. No. 70022-7-1/2

FACTS

In August 2004, Beaver committed a residential burglary. In August 2005, the

trial court entered a judgment of acquittal by reason of insanity pursuant to

RCW 10.77.080, finding that Beaver was suffering from a mental disease or defect at

the time he committed the offense.1 The trial court also found that Beaver was

dangerous and ordered that he be detained in a state mental hospital.

In July 2011, the trial court granted Beaver a conditional release pursuant to

RCW 10.77.150.2 In 2012, the State sought to have Beaver's conditional release

revoked because he violated release conditions. Instead of revoking Beaver's

conditional release, the trial court modified the conditions of release.

Beaver again violated several release conditions.3 In January 2013, the trial

court held a revocation hearing to determine whether Beaver's conditional release

should be modified or revoked. At the hearing, the trial court expressed concerns about

confining Beaver in light of recent medical evaluations suggesting that he was not

currently suffering from any mental illness.4 Nevertheless, the trial court revoked

1Various forensic psychological reports prepared in 2005 diagnosed Beaver as suffering from a psychotic disorder, paranoia, a significant depressive disorder, cocaine dependence, alcohol and cannabis abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, and an antisocial personality disorder. 2 Earlier, in January 2007, Beaver had been granted conditional release, but it was revoked in January 2010 because Beaver violated release conditions. 3 For example, Beaver used cocaine in October 2012 and drove a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol in December 2012.

4 Medical reports prepared in 2012 indicated that Beaver's psychiatric symptoms were in remission and that he had "reached his maximum benefit from psychiatric inpatient services." Clerk's Papers at 119. Indeed, the Department of Social and Health Services, through its Risk Review Board, recommended that Beaver be released from commitment, indicating that "Mr. Beaver has shown no signs or symptoms of mental No. 70022-7-1/3

Beaver's conditional release "[d]ue to the violations of the conditional release order and

the threat to the public presented by Mr. Beaver," and it ordered that he be recommitted

for inpatient treatment.5

Beaver appealed. While this appeal was pending, Beaver was conditionally

released in October 2013 and then finally discharged in May 2014.6

DECISION

Beaver challenges the trial court's order revoking his conditional release.

Because Beaver was again conditionally released and then finally discharged while this

appeal was pending, the State contends that the claims presented in this appeal should

be dismissed as moot. We disagree.

"A moot case is one which seeks to determine an abstract question which does

not rest upon existing facts or rights."7 Generally, "we do not consider questions that

are moot."8 However, we may address a moot issue if it presents a matter of

"continuing and substantial public interest."9 In determining whether a sufficient public

interest is involved, we consider "(1) the public or private nature of the question

presented; (2) the desirability of an authoritative determination which will provide future

illness." Clerk's Papers at 112. In contrast, the Public Safety Review Board recommended revocation and recommitment because it believed that Beaver remained a threat to public safety. 5 Clerk's Papers at 144. 6 We grant the State's motion to supplement the clerk's papers to include this order.

7 Hansen v. W. Coast Wholesale Drug Co., 47 Wn.2d 825, 827, 289 P.2d 718 (1955). 8 State v. Hunlev, 175 Wn.2d 901, 907, 287 P.3d 584 (2012). 9 Id. No. 70022-7-1/4

guidance to public officers; and (3) the likelihood that the question will recur."10 We may

also consider a fourth factor: the "level of genuine adverseness and the quality of

advocacy of the issues."11

Given these considerations, we conclude that the moot issues presented here

raise matters of continuing and substantial public interest.12 Notwithstanding that

Beaver has been finally released, many other insanity acquittees are subject to

conditional release revocation proceedings. We believe that a decision on the trial

court's authority to revoke conditional release in the absence of information regarding

the acquittee's current mental health condition will provide useful guidance to lower

courts and public officers. The parties have adequately briefed and argued the legal

issues presented.13 Thus, we turn to the issues raised in this appeal.

Beaver contends that he was deprived of due process by the trial court's failure

to find that he has a current mental illness, and he asserts that the statute authorizing

revocation of conditional release is unconstitutional if it does not require such a finding.

We disagree.

The federal constitution guarantees that federal and state governments will not

deprive an individual of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."14 The due

10 In re Cross. 99 Wn.2d 373, 377, 662 P.2d 828 (1983). 11 Hart v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs.. 111 Wn.2d 445, 448, 759 P.2d 1206 (1988). 12 See In re Dependency of H., 71 Wn. App. 524, 528, 859 P.2d 1258 (1993) ("Where a technically-moot issue implicates due process rights, it is one in which there is sufficient public interest to warrant deciding it."). 13 See State v. Sansone. 127 Wn. App. 630, 637, 111 P.3d 1251 (2005). 14 U.S. Const, amends. V, XIV, § 1.2. Generally, "Washington's due process clause does not afford broader protection than that given by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." State v. McCormick, 166 Wn.2d 689, 699, 213 P.3d No. 70022-7-1/5

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