State v. Maples

286 P.3d 386, 171 Wash. App. 44
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 2, 2012
DocketNo. 41808-8-II
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 286 P.3d 386 (State v. Maples) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Maples, 286 P.3d 386, 171 Wash. App. 44 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Worswick, C.J.

¶1 Daniel Maples appeals two community placement conditions the trial court imposed during a resentencing hearing of his 2008 second degree murder conviction.1 We agree that the 1988 statute in effect when Maples committed his offense did not authorize the trial court to impose the community placement condition of a preapproved placement address. Later retroactive amendments, however, authorized the second condition that he engage in affirmative acts to ensure compliance with his placement conditions. Accordingly, we remand to the trial court to strike the preapproved placement address condition.

FACTS

¶2 In July 2008, following a jury trial, the superior court sentenced Maples to 342 months’ incarceration for the 1988 second degree murder of Christine Blais. Maples appealed, and this court affirmed the conviction but remanded for a sentencing hearing.

¶3 In February 2011, the sentencing court recalculated Maples’ offender score and imposed a 260-month sentence. Additionally, the sentencing court ordered Maples to serve 12 months of community placement with multiple conditions. The two conditions at controversy in this appeal are:

(7) perform affirmative acts necessary to monitor compliance with the orders of the court as required by DOC [Department of Corrections]; and
(8) for sex offenses, submit to electronic monitoring if imposed by DOC. The residence location and living arrangements are subject to the prior approval of DOC while in community placement or community custody.

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 128.

[47]*47DISCUSSION

I. Community Custody Conditions

¶4 In 1988, former RCW 9.94A.120(8)(b) (1988) imposed five community placement conditions unless the sentencing court waived them.2 In addition, the sentencing court had authority to impose additional conditions under former RCW 9.94A.120(8)(c) (1988).3 Neither condition at issue here is explicitly one of these.

[48]*48A. Preapproved Placement Address

¶5 Maples argues that because he was not a sex offender, the trial court lacked authority to order a preapproved placement address. He relies on In re Personal Restraint of Capello, 106 Wn. App. 576, 583-84, 24 P.3d 1074 (2001), wherein Division One of this court held that absent a trial court order that imposed a preapproved release address condition, DOC had no authority to impose such a condition under the 1991 version of the community custody act. The court held, though, that the trial court had statutory authority to impose such a condition.4 Capello, 106 Wn. App. at 583.5

¶6 The 2002 legislature responded to the Capello decision, stating unequivocally that DOC’s authority to require preapproval of the prisoner’s residence plan had always existed, dating back to the 1988 statute. The legislature stated that it was responding to the Capello decision and clarifying that the DOC secretary “has, and has had since enactment of the community placement act of 1988, the authority to require all offenders, eligible for release to community custody status in lieu of earned release, to provide a release plan that includes an approved residence and living arrangement prior to any transfer to the community.” Laws of 2002, ch. 50, § 1. The legislature also stated that this enactment applies to all offenders “either before, on, or after [March 14, 2002].” Laws of 2002, ch. 50, § 3.

¶7 Division One concluded that this legislation violated the separation of powers doctrine in In re Personal [49]*49Restraint of Stewart, 115 Wn. App. 319, 331, 75 P.3d 521 (2003). It held that these “amendments cannot have retroactive application because the amendatory act contravenes this court’s judicial construction of the statutory scheme in effect prior to 1992 and retroactive application of the amendments violates the separation of powers doctrine.” 115 Wn. App. at 331. The Stewart court relied on a series of cases holding that although the legislature can clarify a previous enactment, the enactment cannot apply retrospectively when it contravenes a judicial construction of the statute.6

¶8 For our purposes, we focus on the part of the 2002 enactments that expanded the preapproved residency requirement to include all serious violent offenders. This was a substantive change to the law, not a clarification or remediation. Because we presume new legislation is an amendment not a clarification of existing law and because the 2002 enactments invoked substantive changes to the statutes, we hold that they did not apply retroactively. In re F.D. Processing Inc., 119 Wn.2d 452, 462, 832 P.2d 1303 (1992). Following this rule and the holding in Stewart, we conclude that the sentencing court did not have authority to impose such a community custody condition on Maples.

¶9 The State argues that the Stewart decision is no longer good law, relying on Hale v. Wellpinit School District No. 49, 165 Wn.2d 494, 498, 508, 198 P.3d 1021 (2009). There our Supreme Court upheld a law passed in direct response to the court’s decision in McClarty v. Totem Electric, 157 Wn.2d 214, 137 P.3d 844 (2006). Similar to here, the legislature acknowledged the Supreme Court’s [50]*50decision, expressed its disagreement with that decision, declared a new statutory definition of “disability,” and explicitly declared that this new definition applied to causes of action occurring before the McClarty decision. Hale, 165 Wn.2d at 498, 508. The court, while acknowledging the Stewart decision, observed that it had never before addressed this separation of powers issue. Hale, 165 Wn.2d at 508. The court then looked to the legislative action and decided that it did not infringe on the judicial branch because “the legislature acted wholly within its sphere of authority to make policy, to pass laws, and to amend laws already in effect.” Hale, 165 Wn.2d at 509. The court observed, “The legislature was careful not to reverse our decision in McClarty nor did the legislature interfere with any judicial function. The legislature has not threatened the independence or integrity or invaded the prerogatives of the judicial branch.” The court then held that the legislature’s adoption of the law did not violate the separation of powers doctrine. Hale, 165 Wn.2d at 510.

¶10 Notably, the Hale decision did not overrule Stewart, nor could it, as Stewart rested on the bedrock principle that the legislature cannot contravene an existing judicial construction of a statute. Our Supreme Court discussed Hale and Stewart

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Bluebook (online)
286 P.3d 386, 171 Wash. App. 44, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-maples-washctapp-2012.