State v. Harris

985 P.2d 417, 97 Wash. App. 647
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided October 4, 1999·No. No. 40004-5-I·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

Agid, J.

Jeremiah Harris is a deaf man who pleaded guilty to a sex offense. He was given a Special Sexual Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA), but later violated conditions of that sentence. Ultimately, the court revoked his suspended sentence. Harris argues that the court’s failure to provide a signing interpreter during meetings with his probation officer violated both a state statute and his right to due process. Because the statute requiring an interpreter at certain court-ordered probation meetings is unconstitutional and Harris’s probation meetings comported with due process, we affirm.

FACTS

Harris pleaded guilty to one count of Child Molestation in the First Degree on August 10, 1994. At the plea hearing, the court provided a signing interpreter for him.1 On November 16, 1994, the court imposed a SSOSA, suspending his standard range sentence on the condition that he participate in sexual deviancy treatment, have alcohol and drug testing through TASC,2 and maintain employment or attend a job training program. Harris signed the judgment and sentence, indicating he understood its terms.

After sentencing, Dr. Brenda Townes did a neuropsychological evaluation of Harris. Harris can read lips, sign language and written material, but a signing interpreter assisted during the evaluation even though most of the test was given in written form. The tests established intelligence in the normal range, with reading and math skills at the fourth or fifth grade level. He had graduated from high school and held three separate jobs, the longest for four months, at a restaurant, Safeway, and Pizza Hut. At the time of the evaluation, Harris was in sexual deviancy [650]*650therapy with Judith McAllister and TASC therapist Vickie Decker.

First Probation Violation Hearing

On December 29, 1995, the court held a probation violation hearing on allegations that Harris failed “to make satisfactory progress in Sexual Deviancy Treatment” and failed “to maintain employment, a training program, or other productive activities as required by the Community Corrections Officer.” A signing interpreter was present to assist Harris at the hearing.

At the hearing, Community Corrections Officer (CCO) Lynne Mcllraith testified that she first met with Harris in the Snohomish County Jail to explain the conditions of supervision. Thereafter, she took steps to ensure that Harris knew what was expected of him while he was on probation:

When Jeremy comes in, I always tell him when the next report day is. Either I have him write it down or stress that it’s the first two Tuesdays to report. I again go over when I’m going to be there to his home, and to be available for me at that time.
I’ve gone over the Judgment and Sentence with him numerous times; explained his requirements, the requirements of the Court . . . It’s a constant reaffirming of his rules and regulations.

Mcllraith said she took these steps because she knew Harris was hearing impaired. She felt that they were able to communicate somewhat effectively. The court hearing was the first time she had communicated with Harris using an interpreter, and she agreed communication was “a lot easier.”

Mcllraith testified that Harris signed a sexual deviancy treatment contract with McAllister on October 13, 1994, “indicating he understood the requirements of treatment.” McAllister reported to Mcllraith that Harris missed an ap[651]*651pointment and sent Harris a letter stating that he would be suspended from treatment if he missed a second one. After Harris missed a second appointment, McAllister suspended him on October 5, 1995.

CCO Mcllraith also testified that at their July 13, 1995 meeting, Harris told Mcllraith that he had quit his job. When asked, he “could not give me a reason other than he just did not want to work.” Mcllraith again went over the conditions of supervision with Harris, and he “stated he understood” the work-related condition. At their September 5, 1995 meeting, Mcllraith asked Harris to name four businesses that he had applied to for work. Mcllraith said he “presented himself as a victim and said, 7 can’t do much because I’m deaf’.” He failed to report on the next reporting day.

Harris testified that after he had consulted with his lawyer, he knew that he “needed to follow all of the rules; if I didn’t follow all the rules, then I would be put in prison.” Harris admitted that Mcllraith had explained all of the rules governing his conduct, but “sometimes I didn’t follow them.” Based on this evidence, the court found that Harris willfully committed the violations and imposed 60 days in jail.

Second Probation Violation Hearing

On March 20, 1996, Mcllraith filed a second violation report, alleging that Harris failed to attend substance abuse monitoring appointments at TASC on three occasions and failed to maintain his employment or job training. The court again held a revocation hearing at which Mcllraith testified that, in order to communicate with Harris, they wrote notes to each other when he came in for his probation meetings. Mcllraith was certain that he understood what she was saying because of the content of his responses. Harris never requested an interpreter.

In their weekly contacts, Mcllraith reminded Harris of his employment, job training and TASC testing responsibilities.[652]*6523 She knew he understood the TASC requirement because “he followed the direction to go, he went through the evaluation process .... He was able to make [his] appointments on a regular basis to TASC.” When Harris was released from jail on the probation violation, Mcllraith told him to contact TASC and begin testing again. He did not keep his appointments at TASC on March 5, 13 or 14, 1996 and explained he hadn’t gone because he either overslept, didn’t want to go, or forgot.

Mcllraith reported that after Harris was released from jail, he contacted his employer, Jim Wilde of Quality Industrial Services (QIS). Harris’s starting date at QIS was February 25, 1996. On February 28, 1996, Wilde called Mcllraith and told her that Harris had not appeared for work. Mcllraith contacted him, and met the following day with him and Wilde. Wilde explained the importance of regular, timely attendance as an employee, described call-in procedures should Harris become ill, and warned that repeated calls about illness would not be acceptable. On March 13, 1996, Wilde told Mcllraith he had fired Harris because he never actually came in to work.

Mcllraith thought Harris understood the rules discussed at the meeting because he reads lips and Wilde knows and used American Sign Language when talking with Harris. Mcllraith said that when she met with Harris on March 19, 1996, he did not seem to care that he had lost a job. He claimed that “he wasn’t motivated and that he was fighting with his girlfriend and there were a lot of things going on in his life that prevented him from working.” Harris did not say whether he had applied or gotten another job.

The court modified Harris’s conditions of probation by striking the employment requirement. It also gave him one month to enroll in a certified sexual deviancy program but warned him that if he violated his probation again, the court would revoke his SSOSA. After finding Harris had willfully failed to comply with the conditions of his [653]

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State v. Harris, 985 P.2d 417, 97 Wash. App. 647 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999).

985 P.2d 417 (State v. Harris) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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