State v. Davis

300 P.3d 465, 174 Wash. App. 623
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided April 30, 2013·No. No. 41357-4-II·Published·Cited by 55 cases

Opinion

Worswick, C.J.

¶1 — A jury convicted Scott Davis of attempted first degree murder and first degree assault, both with firearm enhancements, for engaging in a firefight with and wounding a sheriff’s deputy. Davis appeals his convictions, arguing that (1) his convictions for attempted murder and first degree assault violated double jeopardy, (2) the firearm enhancement for his first degree assault conviction violated double jeopardy, (3) the jury instructions on the definition of “attempt” relieved the State of its burden to prove every element of attempted murder, (4) he received ineffective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to introduce evidence of his good and law abiding character, and (5) the jury instructions unconstitutionally failed to inform the jury of its power of nullification. The State cross appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by finding that the attempted murder and first degree assault were the same criminal conduct for sentencing purposes. We affirm.

FACTS

¶2 Davis retired from the United States Army at the rank of major. Although he had a history of subclinical symptoms of mental illness, he completed a 20 year career in the military. He had his first psychotic break in 2005, when he abruptly quit his job and went to Bali where he spent his money impulsively and eventually came into conflict with the authorities, ending up in a Balinese mental institution.

[629] ¶3 After Davis returned from Bali, he received psychiatric medication. But in 2008, he had stopped taking his medications and his mental state deteriorated. Davis began to suffer from a number of delusions, including that society was about to collapse and people would turn to cannibalism, and that he would be sent to Guantanamo Bay and tortured if the military captured him. He also exhibited out-of-character behavior, including pressured speech that jumped from tangent to tangent, spending lavishly using credit cards that he had no intention of repaying, and building a tent city in a national forest for the upcoming collapse of society.

¶4 On January 18, 2009, Davis visited a grocery store where he behaved strangely. He told the clerk that he had a magical computer that could create universes, and that he could use it because he was the world’s greatest graphic designer.

¶5 Davis told another of the grocery store clerks that he was looking for a place to stay, and the clerk told him about some cabins for rent nearby. Davis left the store and returned later, telling the clerk that he had “rangered” one of the cabins and did not need to contact the owners. A clerk sent word to the cabin owners, who called the sheriff’s office about a possible trespass at the cabin.

¶6 On January 19, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy William Cortani received and responded to the trespass call. Deputy Cortani went to the cabin to investigate and discovered that a sliding door leading to the cabin’s deck was open. He drew his gun, planning to enter and clear the cabin, but as he was about to step over the threshold, Davis came around the corner of the cabin and asked if he could help the deputy.

¶7 Deputy Cortani identified himself and informed Davis that he was investigating a trespass. Davis responded that he was renting the cabin. Deputy Cortani told Davis that the cabin was supposed to be unoccupied and asked for Davis’s identification. Davis said he was a retired major [630] and “didn’t have to listen to this.” Report of Proceedings (RP) (July 26, 2010) at 89-90. Davis refused another command for identification and began to walk away from Deputy Cortani, going back around the corner. Deputy Cortani followed Davis, holstering his gun and drawing his stun gun, informing Davis that he was under arrest and telling him to put his hands on top of his head.

¶8 Davis started to put his hands up but then glanced back and dropped his hands. Deputy Cortani saw Davis’s hands go to his waist and grip the handle of a gun. Deputy Cortani discharged his stun gun, but Davis was not incapacitated. Davis then fired his gun at Deputy Cortani, hitting him in the arm.

¶9 Davis aimed the gun at Deputy Cortani’s head; Deputy Cortani ducked and ran off the deck and down the beach from the cabin. Davis continued to fire as Deputy Cortani ran, hitting him in the hip. Deputy Cortani returned fire as he ran and took cover behind a log on the beach. He continued to return fire from there.

¶10 After 15 to 20 seconds, Davis stopped shooting and went into the cabin. Deputy Cortani moved along the log for better cover. Davis then returned from the cabin carrying a shotgun, moving toward and focused on the spot where Deputy Cortani had first gone over the log.

¶11 Deputy Cortani yelled to Davis to drop the weapon, but Davis brought the shotgun up, pointed it at Deputy Cortani, and Deputy Cortani started firing again. Davis ran forward and dove into a dip in the ground. Davis then raised the shotgun up and tossed it away, telling Deputy Cortani he was hurt and needed help. Deputy Cortani told Davis help was on the way, and he asked dispatch to send two ambulances.

¶12 The State charged Davis with attempted first degree murder and first degree assault, alleging firearm enhancements on both counts. Davis pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

[631] ¶13 Pretrial, the State moved the trial court to exclude any references to Davis’s good character, such as the fact that he was an eagle scout, was a good family man, or was a decorated military veteran. The trial court ruled under ER 404(b) that evidence of Davis’s general good character, such as his prior service in the army or the fact that he had been a good father, would be inadmissible. But the trial court permitted defense counsel to introduce specific facts regarding Davis’s prior behavior to show whether there was any change due to his mental illness. Davis admitted such testimony through his sister, Jennifer Davis, and his cousin, Mark Davis.

¶14 The State also moved to exclude any reference to jury nullification. Defense counsel objected but cited no law in support of his argument, calling his objection “more of a personal principal stand.” RP (July 19,2010) at 23. The trial court granted the State’s motion and gave the jury instructions that it had a “duty” to return a verdict of guilty if the jury found the elements of the charged crimes proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

¶15 The jury rejected Davis’s insanity defense, instead finding Davis guilty of attempted murder and first degree assault, both with firearm enhancements, as charged. At sentencing, however, the trial court found that the convictions were the same criminal conduct for sentencing purposes. Davis appeals his convictions; the State cross appeals Davis’s sentence.

ANALYSIS

I. Double Jeopardy

¶16 Davis argues that his right to be free from double jeopardy was violated in two respects. First, he argues that his attempted murder and first degree assault convictions were for the same offense. And second, he argues that the firearm enhancement on the first degree assault charge violated double jeopardy. We disagree on both points.

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State v. Davis, 300 P.3d 465, 174 Wash. App. 623 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).

300 P.3d 465 (State v. Davis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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