State v. Madsen

153 Wash. App. 471
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided December 14, 2009·No. No. 62143-2-I·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

¶1 This appeal concerns a statute directing that when an inmate violates the conditions of community custody a third time, he must be sent back to prison for the remainder of his original sentence. The statute became effective before petitioner Kurt Madsen committed his third community custody violation, but after he committed the crimes for which he was originally sentenced. Punishment for a community custody violation is attributed to the crimes for which a defendant was originally convicted, not to the violation. Because the statute increased the measure of punishment for Madsen’s original conviction, the trial court properly ruled that applying it to Madsen would violate the ex post facto clause.

Becker, J.

f 2 Madsen was convicted in August 2006 on three counts of felony violation of a no-contact order (domestic violence), based on three telephone calls he placed on September 2, 2004.1 On August 9, 2006, he was sentenced to confinement in prison for 18 months, to be followed by a term of community custody.

¶3 When serving a term of community custody, an offender is subject to certain conditions. Violating the condi[474] tions of community custody may lead to sanctions being imposed by the Department of Corrections. RCW 9.94A.737.

¶4 Madsen was released to community custody on December 21, 2006, after serving less than five months of his 18-month term of confinement. He violated the conditions of community custody twice2 before July 2007. In July 2007 the provision that is the subject of this appeal went into effect. Laws op 2007, ch. 483, § 305. It was codified as RCW 9.94A.737(2). The legislature has since revised the statute by deleting the provision. Laws op 2008, ch. 231, § 20. We shall refer to the provision at issue in this case, former RCW 9.94A.737(2), as the 2007 statute.

¶5 The 2007 statute made it mandatory that when an offender has committed a third violation of community custody, the Department “shall” return that offender to prison to serve the remainder of the sentence in total confinement:

If an offender has not completed his or her maximum term of total confinement and is subject to a third violation hearing for any violation of community custody and is found to have committed the violation, the department shall return the offender to total confinement in a state correctional facility to serve up to the remaining portion of his or her sentence, unless it is determined that returning the offender to a state correctional facility would substantially interfere with the offender’s ability to maintain necessary community supports or to participate in necessary treatment or programming and would substantially increase the offender’s likelihood of reoffending.

Former RCW 9.94A.737(2) (the 2007 statute).

¶6 On April 23, 2008, a hearings officer for the Department found that Madsen had violated the conditions of community custody a third time. Madsen’s community corrections officer recommended a sanction of 60 days’ confinement. This was an authorized sanction under the [475] law as it existed before the 2007 statute went into effect. But the hearings officer applied the 2007 statute and ordered that Madsen had to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison.

¶7 On June 12, 2008, Madsen filed a motion under CrR 7.8(b) in King County Superior Court, asserting that applying the 2007 statute to him violated the ex post facto clause. The court agreed and found that, but for the hearings officer’s erroneous reliance on the 2007 statute, “it is highly probable that a sixty day sanction would have been imposed.” The Department does not challenge this finding. Madsen had already served more than 60 days for his third violation. Accordingly, the court ordered the Department to release him from prison. This appeal followed.

f 8 Initially, the Department contends that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider Madsen’s motion. The court considered the motion under CrR 7.8(b). That rule specifically allows the court to relieve a party “from a final judgment, order, or proceeding.” CrR 7.8(b). According to the Department, this language limits the trial court to amending a judgment and sentence and shows that the superior court does not have the power to grant post-conviction relief. The Department argues that the only proper means for an offender to appeal the result of a community custody hearing is a personal restraint petition filed in this court under RAP 16.4(b). The Department’s interpretation of the rule is contradicted by authority. “The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and superior court have concurrent jurisdiction in habeas corpus proceedings wherein postconviction relief is sought.” Toliver v. Olsen, 109 Wn.2d 607, 609, 746 P.2d 809 (1987). A motion in the trial court under CrR 7.8(b) is the functional equivalent of a personal restraint petition in the Court of Appeals. See In re Pers. Restraint of Becker, 143 Wn.2d 491, 499, 20 P.3d 409 (2001). The superior court did not err by considering Madsen’s motion under CrR 7.8(b).

f 9 On the merits, the Department contends the trial court erred when it concluded that applying the 2007 [476] statute to Madsen violated the ex post facto clause. This court reviews a lower court’s ruling on a CrR 7.8 motion for an abuse of discretion. State v. Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d 303, 317, 915 P.2d 1080 (1996). If the court applies the wrong legal standard or bases its ruling on an erroneous view of the law, it abuses its discretion. This court reviews underlying questions of law de novo. State v. Lord, 161 Wn.2d 276, 284, 165 P.3d 1251 (2007).

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State v. Madsen, 153 Wash. App. 471 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009).

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