State Of Washington, V. Timothy D. Harris, Jr.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 3, 2022
Docket82804-5
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington, V. Timothy D. Harris, Jr. (State Of Washington, V. Timothy D. Harris, Jr.) 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. Timothy D. Harris, Jr., (Wash. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON,

No. 82804-5-I Respondent, DIVISION ONE v. UNPUBLISHED OPINION TIMOTHY HARRIS,

Appellant.

DÍAZ, J. — Timothy Harris represented himself at a 2018 trial, where a jury

convicted him of rape in the first degree and robbery in the first degree. After this

court reversed his convictions and remanded the case for retrial in April 2020,

Harris again sought to represent himself. The trial court eventually granted his

motion. After several continuances, Harris proceeded to a second trial in early

2021, this time without a jury, and the trial court convicted him as charged.

Harris claims on appeal that he did not validly waive his right to counsel and

the trial court violated his right to a speedy trial under CrR 3.3 by continuing the

trial multiple times over his objection. Harris also claims, and the State concedes,

that the trial court erred by imposing Department of Corrections supervision fees

Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material. No. 82804-5-I/2

as a legal financial obligation (LFO). We affirm Harris’s convictions, but remand

to strike the supervision fees.

I. FACTS

In 2017, the State charged Harris with rape in the first degree and robbery

in the first degree, alleging that he brutally attacked the victim in her home. Harris

represented himself at the 2018 trial and the jury convicted him as charged. On

appeal, this court accepted the State’s concession, reversed Harris’s convictions

based on instructional error, and remanded for retrial. State v. Harris, No. 79415-

9-I, Slip Op. (Wash. Ct. App. March 16, 2020) (unpublished),

https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/794159.pdf.

On remand, the trial court set an initial trial date of September 9, 2020, and

Harris filed a motion seeking to represent himself. The court conducted a colloquy

to determine if Harris understood the nature of the charges, the potential penalties

he faced, and the rules he would be required to follow if the court allowed him to

represent himself. Ultimately, the court found that Harris’s request was equivocal

and denied the motion.

Harris’s appointed counsel sought two continuances, over Harris’s

objection, in order to review the transcripts and evidence from the first trial. The

court granted both requests and, as a result, continued the trial to November 30,

2020. The State then sought an eight-week continuance to accommodate the

schedule of a witness who testified at the first trial. Defense counsel joined the

request, indicating that he needed additional time to prepare for trial. Again, over

2 No. 82804-5-I/3

Harris’s personal objection, the court granted the motion, and continued the trial to

January 25, 2021.

Approximately two weeks before trial was scheduled to begin, Harris

reasserted his motion to proceed pro se. A different trial court judge considered

the motion. Again by way of brief summary: noting that Harris had represented

himself at the first trial and, two months earlier, the court had engaged in a full

colloquy, the court granted his motion.

On the first day of trial before a third judge, Harris moved to dismiss the

charges, alleging a speedy trial violation under CrR 3.3, and the trial court denied

the motion.

After a bench trial, the court found Harris guilty of both charges and entered

findings of fact and conclusions of law. The court imposed an indeterminate

sentence on the rape count, with a minimum term of 147 months, the top-end of

the standard range, and a concurrent sentence of 54 months on the robbery

count. 1

II. ANALYSIS

A. Self-Representation

Harris contends that the trial court erred in granting his second motion to

waive counsel without informing him of the possible maximum penalty he faced if

convicted. Specifically, Harris contends that the court did not explain that Harris

faced a life sentence with the possibility of release only at the discretion of the

1 The sentencing court in 2018 imposed a slightly lower minimum term of

144 months on rape charge, but otherwise imposed the same sentence.

3 No. 82804-5-I/4

Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB). Harris maintains that because he

lacked critical information to make an informed choice about proceeding without

counsel, his waiver of the right to counsel was invalid.

The Washington Constitution and the United States Constitution grant

criminal defendants the right to self-representation. State v. Curry, 191 Wn.2d

475, 482, 423 P.3d 179 (2018). But this right is in tension with a defendant’s

constitutional right to the assistance of counsel. Id. “Because of this tension, a

defendant must unequivocally request to proceed pro se before he or she will be

permitted to do so.” Id. at 482-83. And even if a defendant makes an unequivocal

and timely request, the trial court may not grant a defendant’s request to proceed

pro se unless the defendant’s waiver of the right to counsel is voluntary, knowing,

and intelligent. Id. at 483.

To determine whether a waiver is voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, the

court must confirm “that the defendant understood the seriousness of the charge,

the possible maximum penalty involved, and the existence of technical procedural

rules governing the presentation of his defense.” State v. DeWeese, 117 Wn.2d

369, 378, 816 P.2d 1 (1991) (emphasis added). “[A] colloquy on the record is the

preferred means of assuring that defendants understand the risks of self-

representation.” City of Bellevue v. Acrey, 103 Wn.2d 203, 211, 691 P.2d 957

(1984).

While the rights involved in a motion to proceed pro se are constitutionally-

based, the validity of a defendant’s waiver of the right to counsel is reserved to the

trial court’s discretion and we review the court’s decision on a motion for self-

4 No. 82804-5-I/5

representation for an abuse of discretion. 2 Curry, 191 Wn.2d at 483; State v. Silva,

108 Wn. App. 536, 539, 31 P.3d 729 (2001). “[E]ven if we disagree with the trial

court’s ultimate decision, we do not reverse that decision unless it falls outside the

range of acceptable choices.” Curry, 191 Wn.2d at 484. The trial court is in a

superior position to evaluate a defendant’s request. Id. at 484-85. Unlike in federal

court, the burden of proof on appeal “is on the defendant asserting that his right to

counsel was not competently and intelligently waived.” State v. Hahn, 106 Wn.2d

885, 901, 726 P.2d 25 (1986).

At the November 2020 hearing on Harris’s initial motion, defense counsel

confirmed that he had reviewed the waiver of counsel form with Harris “in its

entirety,” Harris had signed the form, and Harris had, in fact, represented himself

in the first trial on the same charges. Although this signed waiver of counsel form

supplied to the court is not included in the record on appeal, the record does

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