State v. Atkins

236 P.3d 897
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJuly 19, 2010
Docket64975-2-I
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 236 P.3d 897 (State v. Atkins) 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 v. Atkins, 236 P.3d 897 (Wash. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

236 P.3d 897 (2010)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Phillip Van ATKINS, Appellant.

No. 64975-2-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

May 24, 2010.
Publication Ordered July 19, 2010.

*899 Jodi R. Backlund, Manek R. Mistry, Backlund & Mistry, Olympia, WA, for Appellant.

Douglas P. Ruth, Lewis Co. Pros. Ofc., Chehalis, WA, for Respondent.

COX, J.

¶ 1 Phillip Atkins appeals his judgment and sentence, claiming that the information and "to convict" instruction for his felony harassment charge were deficient because they did not include an essential element of that crime. Because "true threat" is not an essential element of this charge and the court's instructions included an explanation of that term, we reject this claim.

¶ 2 Atkins also argues that the knowledge instruction for third degree assault given in this case created an unconstitutional mandatory presumption. We agree, but conclude that error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

¶ 3 Atkins also claims that the State did not meet its burden to prove his criminal history for purposes of calculating his offender score at sentencing. We accept the State's concession of this point and remand for resentencing to correct that error.

¶ 4 Atkins claims that certain of his convictions listed in the judgment and sentence have "washed out" under the SRA. But we do not reach that claim because the record is inadequate to do so.

¶ 5 Finally, he claims that certain 2008 amendments to the SRA violate his right to due process and the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. We decline to address those claims because they are not adequately briefed and it is unclear that the trial court applied the amendments at issue to Atkins.

¶ 6 We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

¶ 7 Arthur Steele went camping with his wife and some friends at a campsite in Lewis County on the last weekend of August 2008. Atkins was camping near the same site with friends and family that weekend. Steele testified at trial that he had known Atkins for a little over a year and described their relationship as being acquaintances or "decent friends."

¶ 8 The Steeles stopped to talk with Atkins on the morning of Sunday, August 31, as they left to go horse-riding. During that conversation, Amy Steele noticed that Atkins had a handgun and holster underneath his coat. That evening, Atkins came over to the Steeles' campsite. Atkins was drinking beer and at some point "grabbed [Arthur Steele] like he wanted to wrestle." Though the scuffle did not escalate into a physical fight, Atkins "stood there screaming he was going to kill" Steele. Atkins repeatedly told Steele, "you're a dead mother f____er" and said he would kill Steele. Atkins threatened to kill Steele "[c]lose to a dozen times" before leaving the Steeles' campsite.

¶ 9 Less than an hour later, Atkins walked back near the Steeles' campsite, called Arthur Steele by name, and warned him, "don't go to sleep, mother f____er, you're a dead man. I'm going to f____ing kill you."

¶ 10 After this second encounter, Amy Steele drove from the campsite to a location where she could get cell phone reception and called the police. Two Lewis County Sheriff's Deputies responded around 9:55 p.m. that night. The deputies talked to Steele and others at his campsite and then drove over to Atkins' campsite.

¶ 11 Atkins and his father were inside a horse trailer when the deputies arrived. Atkins disputes whether the deputies announced that they were from the sheriff's office. But it is undisputed that the deputies pounded on the side of the trailer and ordered him to come out. Atkins' father came out of the trailer first. Atkins eventually came to the doorway. During the encounter that followed, Atkins struck Deputy Jason Mauermann in the face with a cowboy boot.

¶ 12 The State charged Atkins with one count of felony harassment based on his *900 threats to kill Arthur Steele. It also charged Atkins with one count of assault in the third degree based on his striking Deputy Mauermann in the face during the encounter at the trailer. A jury convicted Atkins as charged.

¶ 13 Atkins appeals.

TRUE THREAT

¶ 14 Atkins contends that a "true threat" is an essential element of the crime of felony harassment and, as such, must be included in the charging information and defined in the "to convict" instruction. Binding precedent indicates otherwise.

¶ 15 "Because threats are a form of pure speech, a statute criminalizing threatening language `must be interpreted with the commands of the First Amendment clearly in mind.'"[1] Consistent with this requirement, Washington courts interpret statutes criminalizing threatening language as proscribing only true threats, which are not protected by the First Amendment.[2] A "true threat" is a "`statement made in a context or under such circumstances wherein a reasonable person would foresee that the statement would be interpreted . . . as a serious expression of intention to inflict bodily harm upon or to take the life of another person.'"[3]

¶ 16 State v. Tellez[4] is dispositive. In construing the analogous felony telephone harassment statute, RCW 9.61.230(2)(b), this division agreed with the State that "the constitutional concept of `true threat' merely defines and limits the scope of the essential threat element in the felony telephone harassment statute and is not itself an essential element of the crime."[5] Consequently, the "true threat" requirement need not be included in the charging document or the "to convict" instruction.[6] An instruction defining "true threat" protects the defendant's First Amendment rights.[7]

¶ 17 In State v. Schaler,[8] Division Three of this court agreed with the conclusion in Tellez. Examining the same statute at issue here, RCW 9A.46.020, that court concluded that "jury instructions given at trial, by not providing a definition of `true threat,' were deficient."[9]

¶ 18 Atkins has failed to provide any contrary authority to the above cases, and we have found none.

¶ 19 Here, the "to convict" instruction required the jury to find the following elements to convict Atkins of the crime of felony harassment:

(1) That on or about August 31, 2008, the defendant knowingly threatened to kill Arthur Steele immediately or in the future.
(2) That the words or conduct of the defendant placed Arthur Steele in reasonable fear that the threat to kill would be carried out;
(3) That the defendant acted without lawful authority; and
(4) That the threat was made or received in the State of Washington.[10]

Instruction 12 defined "threat":

Threat means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the intent to cause bodily injury in the future to the person threatened or to any other person.
To be a threat, a statement or act must occur in a context of under such circumstances where a reasonable person, in the position of the speaker, would foresee that *901 the statement or act would be interpreted as a serious expression of intention to carry out the threat rather than as something said in jest or idle talk.

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Bluebook (online)
236 P.3d 897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-atkins-washctapp-2010.