State v. Hartzog
Opinions
—Herman Hartzog appeals a conviction under RCW 69.50.401(c)1 for possession of a controlled substance, an amphetamine. Hartzog was an inmate of the Washington State Penitentiary at the time he was found with the drug and at the time of trial.
On May 12, 1977, 7 months prior to Hartzog's trial, the Walla Walla Superior Court issued a general courtroom security order requiring certain security measures be taken with all penitentiary inmates appearing before the court. See Appendix I. Hartzog challenges the security order on the basis those measures, specifically probe searches prior to entry into the courtroom and shackling during trial, denied his right to due process and a fair and impartial trial.
We hold (1) the courtroom security order of the Superior Court for Walla Walla County must be applied only on an individualized basis, after a hearing from which the court determines and provides reasons for the implementation of each provision in the order; and (2) the crime of possession of a controlled substance (RCW 69.50.401(d)) does not require proof of intent or guilty knowledge.
We deem it necessary to supply background on the courtroom security order because the question of its broad applicability is before this court for the first time.
History of the Courtroom Security Order
The penitentiary at Walla Walla is a maximum security prison where ordinarily the highest security-risk convicted felons are incarcerated. Many of the prisoners are repeat offenders serving longer sentences for more serious crimes than inmates of other penal institutions in the state. The [579] Walla Walla County Superior Court has jurisdiction over those cases which arise from felonies committed within the penitentiary.
The incidents which formed the basis for the Walla Walla Superior Court security order Eire recounted in both the record of a heEiring held May 12, 1977, and the security order itself. During the closing stages of a trisd held 2 months prior to the issusmce of the order, a bomb made with a Bic lighter exploded in the conference room adjacent to the courtroom, severely injuring a penitentiary correctional officer. Prison officials later told the court an inmate witness had made the bomb and smuggled it into the courthouse. During that trial, an inmate witness threw water in the face of a juror; one of the defendants, Gilcrist, made an obscene gesture to the judge; and both defendEmts, Gilcrist smd Agtuca, during the trial spilled coffee Emd milk on themselves Emd ripped their clothing, apparently in an attempt to disrupt or delay the proceedings. See State v. Gilcrist, 91 Wn.2d 603, 614, 590 P.2d 809 (1979). The Walla Wsdla courthouse has been the scene where inmates in shackles have destroyed books Emd thrown objects through weJIs; where one inmate has tried to choke smother; and where Em escaping prisoner was chased and fired upon by guEirds as he r£m through the courthouse Emd onto a public street.
As a result of the Walla Wsdla Superior Court's experiences, combined with information and recommendations of prison and law enforcement officials, the court adopted these security measures to be required of all inmates who came to court. The basis of the order is found in the order itself:
Psychiatric evaluation reports received by the Court, the testimony of inmates at heEirings and trials, and the conduct of inmates both in Emd out of the courtroom evidence that msmy individuals are being brought into the courtroom who constitute an extreme danger to the public, jurors, court personnel, custodial stEiff and security staff. Heedless of the consequences of their actions, they are willing to murder or maim innocent people merely for [580] their morbid amusement, trial delays, mistrials or escape diversions.
While some of these inmates are predictable risks obviously requiring special precautions, the predictability comes from past experience. The prison setting itself can trigger violent action in an individual who has not exhibited it before. Therefore, this Court deems there is no way to reliably distinguish the violent from the nonviolent. All inmates are potentially dangerous.
Prior to trial, Hartzog moved to set aside the courtroom security order, specifically objecting to the required body cavity search before each courtroom appearance and to being shackled in arm and leg restraints throughout the trial. The trial court denied the motion. In his ruling the trial judge relied in part on the routine nature of the security measures. He also relied on an order issued by this court in State v. Snook, No. 2425-III, June 9, 1977, incorporated by reference into his oral ruling.
In Snook, this court denied the State's motion for discretionary review, finding no error in the Walla Walla Superior Court's courtroom security order as applied in that case. This court’s denial of the State's motion was based primarily on the record which contained a diagnostic evaluation of Snook as "'an anti-social personality . . . with aggressive homicidal and suicidal trends,"' as well as the criminal history of the inmate witnesses scheduled to appear during his trial. In denying the State's motion, this court did not reach "the broad applicability of the order regarding courtroom security as it appears to apply to any inmate, defendant or witness brought into court from the Washington State Penitentiary."2 See also State v. Gilcrist, supra.
Footnotes
615 P.2d 480 (State v. Hartzog) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.
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