State v. Gamble

154 Wash. 2d 457
Washington Supreme Court·Decided June 23, 2005·No. No. 74414-9·Published·Cited by 72 cases

Opinions

¶1 This case requires us to consider whether the Court of Appeals, after properly vacating a conviction for second degree felony murder, erred in remanding the case with directions to enter a verdict of guilty on the offense of first degree manslaughter. Specifically, we must consider whether first degree manslaughter is a lesser included offense of second degree felony murder where second degree assault, as set forth in RCW 9A.36.021(1)(a), is the predicate felony. While both parties petitioned this court to review numerous issues, our grant of review is limited to the question of whether the Court of Appeals remand instructions were proper. We hold that despite the unique nature of the predicate assault elements, man[460] slaughter is not a lesser included offense of second degree felony murder where second degree assault, RCW 9A-.36.021(1)(a), is the predicate felony. We thus conclude the Court of Appeals erroneously remanded for an entry of conviction of first degree manslaughter.

Bridge, J.

[460] I

¶2 On March 26, 1999, 19-year-old Jacob Gamble attended a party at a neighbor’s house. By 11:30 p.m., over 50 individuals were at the party, most drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana. Gamble’s friend, Kevin Phommahasay expressed an intent to confront and fight Curtis Esteban that night. When Esteban, along with his friend Daniel Carroll, arrived at the party, Phommahasay immediately went outside to confront Esteban and struck him in the head with a beer bottle. At that time, Gamble struck Carroll in the face, knocking him to the ground. Carroll hit his head on the ground and was rendered unconscious. Gamble and Ryan May then began to kick and stomp on Carroll. Carroll died of blunt head trauma.

¶3 The State charged Gamble with first degree felony murder with robbery as the predicate felony and, alternatively, with second degree felony murder with second degree assault as the predicate felony. At trial, Gamble requested the court instruct the jury on the offense of first degree manslaughter as a lesser included offense to the charge of second degree felony murder. The trial court denied Gamble’s proposed instruction, ruling manslaughter is not a lesser included offense of felony murder. A jury convicted Gamble on both felony murder charges. Gamble appealed.1

¶4 In relation to the second degree felony murder conviction, Gamble asserted that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on manslaughter. Gamble argued that [461] the lesser included offense test, as set forth in State v. Berlin, 133 Wn.2d 541, 545-46, 550, 947 P.2d 700 (1997), compelled a finding that manslaughter is a lesser included offense in this case. During the pendency of his appeal, this court decided In re Personal Restraint of Andress, 147 Wn.2d 602, 56 P.3d 981 (2002) (holding assault cannot serve as predicate felony for felony murder) and the Court of Appeals solicited additional briefing on its impact. State v. Gamble, noted at 116 Wn. App. 1016, 2003 WL 1298906, at *6, 2003 Wash. App. LEXIS 444, at *16-17. In response to this request, in a reverse course from his earlier position, Gamble conceded in his supplemental briefing that Washington law does not provide for lesser included offenses to second degree felony murder. See Appellant’s Second Suppl. Br. at 6 (noting appellant “is not allowed access to such lesser included-offenses [as manslaughter] if Felony Murder in the Second Degree is charged”) (citing State v. Tamalini, 134 Wn.2d 725, 747, 953 P.2d 450 (1998)). The State consistently maintained, at trial and on appeal, that manslaughter is not, and cannot be, a lesser included offense of felony murder.

¶5 In light of the Andress decision, because the predicate felony with which Gamble was charged was an assault, the Court of Appeals vacated the second degree felony murder conviction. State v. Gamble, 118 Wn. App. 332, 336, 72 P.3d 1139 (2003). The Court of Appeals then independently crafted a remedy neither party sought. The Court of Appeals remanded to the trial court with directions to enter a guilty verdict on what it determined to be “the lesser included offense of first degree manslaughter.” Gamble, 118 Wn. App. at 340. In reaching this result, the Court of Appeals recognized that its ruling was contrary to decisions of this court explicitly holding that manslaughter is not a lesser included offense to felony murder. Id. (noting Tamalini, 134 Wn.2d at 729). The Court of Appeals nonetheless asserted it was bound by the lesser included offense standard set forth in State v. Workman, 90 Wn.2d 443, 447-48, 584 P.2d 382 (1978), and reaffirmed in Berlin, 133 [462] Wn.2d at 548-49.2 Gamble, 118 Wn. App. at 340. The Court of Appeals reasoned that, in this case, the Workman standard compelled a result contrary to our pronouncement in Tamalini. Id.

¶6 In petitioning for review, both Gamble and the State now contend that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that manslaughter is a lesser included offense of second degree felony murder. We granted review to decide whether the Court of Appeals properly remanded for entry of conviction of first degree manslaughter.

II

17 The sole dispositive issue before the court is whether first degree manslaughter is a lesser included offense of second degree felony murder where assault, as defined in RCW 9A.36.021(1)(a),3 is the predicate felony.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Gamble, 154 Wash. 2d 457 (Wash. 2005).

154 Wash. 2d 457 (State v. Gamble) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State Of Washington, V. Tiana Rose Wood-sims
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
State of Washington v. Riley James Hillestad
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
State Of Washington, V. Michael Eugene Norvell
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
State Of Washington, V. Kevin Laurence Lewis
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
State v. Moreno
499 P.3d 198 (Washington Supreme Court, 2021)
State Of Washington, V. Malik Tupac Lee
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
State v. Numrich
480 P.3d 376 (Washington Supreme Court, 2021)
State Of Washington v. Daniel Castaneda Cruz
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2019
State v. Muhammad
451 P.3d 1060 (Washington Supreme Court, 2019)
State v. Gehrke
434 P.3d 522 (Washington Supreme Court, 2019)
State Of Washington v. Marque Deandre Fluker
425 P.3d 903 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018)
State of Washington v. Lashawn Douxshae Jameison
421 P.3d 463 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018)
State Of Washington v. Kevin Lee Garrison
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
State Of Washington v. Carlos P. Calderon
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2018
State of Washington v. Luis Alberto Anguiano
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
State of Washington v. Frank Lee James Uhyrek
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2015
State Of Washington v. Denise Lashon Larkins
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2015
State v. Henderson
Washington Supreme Court, 2015
State v. Condon
Washington Supreme Court, 2015
State Of Washington v. Dontrail Latham
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014