State v. M.R.C.

989 P.2d 93, 98 Wash. App. 52, 1999 Wash. App. LEXIS 1975
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 19, 1999
DocketNo. 23706-7-II
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 989 P.2d 93 (State v. M.R.C.) 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. M.R.C., 989 P.2d 93, 98 Wash. App. 52, 1999 Wash. App. LEXIS 1975 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Bridgewater, C.J.

M.R.C. appeals his detention for involuntary psychological treatment under RCW 71.05. We hold that the corpus delicti rule does not apply in involuntary treatment hearings; thus, the State could use his uncorroborated confession as evidence that he committed acts constituting a felony. We affirm.

On July 10, 1998, the Clallam County Superior Court dismissed without prejudice the charge of child molestation in the first degree against M.R.C. The court found that he was incompetent to stand trial and that he should he [54]*54transferred to Western State Hospital pending a civil commitment hearing.

A petition seeking M.R.C.’s commitment for 180 days of involuntary treatment was subsequently filed in the Pierce County Superior Court on July 29, 1998, alleging two separate grounds for his detention: (1) that he was gravely disabled due to a mental disorder; and (2) that as a result of the mental disorder, he had committed acts constituting a felony and was likely to repeat these acts.

M.R.C. waived his right to a jury trial and a hearing was held before Commissioner Ronald Thompson on August 6, 1998. At the hearing, Officer Gerald Swayze testified that M.R.C. told him he had kissed an 11-year-old child, touched the child’s penis, and rubbed his bottom on the child’s penis. Ronald Murray Hart, Ph.D., opined that M.R.C. is gravely disabled due to his mental retardation and that without supervision he presented a substantial likelihood of repeating his acts of molestation. M.R.C. objected to the testimony about his statement to Swayze, arguing that the corpus delicti rule applied and that the State had not provided corroboration of his statement. M.R.C.’s motion to exclude the testimony was denied. M.R.C. did not present any witnesses. The trial court held that the State had shown that M.R.C. was gravely disabled and that he had committed acts constituting a felony and was likely to repeat those acts. The trial court ordered M.R.C. committed to Western State Hospital for 180 days of involuntary treatment commencing August 6, 1998.

I. Mootness

M.R.C. concedes that because his detention has long since expired, we cannot grant the relief he requests (reversal of the commitment order and dismissal of the petition) and, therefore, this case is technically moot. But an appellate court may decide a moot case if it involves matters of continuing and substantial public interest. In re Detention of Swanson, 115 Wn.2d 21, 24-25, 793 P.2d 962, 804 P.2d 1 (1990). Both parties request review. In determin[55]*55ing whether a sufficient public interest is involved, we consider the following criteria:

(1) the public or private nature of the question presented; (2) the desirability of an authoritative determination which will provide future guidance to public officers; and (3) the likelihood that the question will recur.

Dunner v. McLaughlin, 100 Wn.2d 832, 838, 676 P.2d 444 (1984).

The question addressed here, whether the corpus delicti rule applies to civil commitment proceedings, is an issue of first impression in this state; it is also a public issue and has the potential for recurrence. Our Supreme Court has recognized that “ ‘the need to clarify the statutory scheme governing civil commitment is a matter of continuing and substantial public interest.’ ” In re Detention of LaBelle, 107 Wn.2d 196, 200, 728 P.2d 138 (1986) (quoting McLaughlin, 100 Wn.2d at 838). Also, the fact that both parties are requesting review indicates that there is need for guidance in the area and that the issues are likely to recur. See Swanson, 115 Wn.2d at 25. Therefore, although the case is technically moot, we will nonetheless address the issues M.R.C. raised.

II. Corpus Delicti

M.R.C. contends that his statement to police was improperly admitted into evidence in his civil commitment proceeding because the State did not establish the corpus delicti of his crime. The corpus delicti rule requires that the corpus delicti, literally the “body of the crime,” be established before the admissions of a defendant may be considered in deciding whether the defendant committed the crime. State v. Aten, 130 Wn.2d 640, 655-56, 927 P.2d 210 (1996). An involuntary commitment hearing under RCW 71.05 is a civil proceeding. Mental Froceeding Rule [56]*563.4(a); see also McLaughlin, 100 Wn.2d at 844-45.1 The question is therefore whether the corpus delicti rule applies to civil cases.

Although this is an issue of first impression in our state, other states have held that the corpus delicti rule has no application in civil cases and is a rule peculiar to criminal law. See, e.g., 7 John Henry Wigmore, Evidence § 2075 (James H. Chadbourn ed., 1978); Corrigan v. Zolin, 47 Cal. App. 4th 230, 54 Cal. Rptr. 2d 634 (1996) (driver’s license revocation proceeding); People v. Woznick, 278 Ill. App. 3d 826, 663 N.E.2d 1037, 215 Ill. Dec. 523 (1996) (probation revocation hearing); Webb v. Director of Revenue, 896 S.W.2d 517 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995) (driver’s license revocation proceeding); Department of Motor Vehicles & Pub. Safety v. McLeod, 106 Nev. 852, 801 P.2d 1390 (1990) (driver’s license revocation proceeding); In re Chase, 50 Ohio App. 2d 393, 364 N.E.2d 292 (1976) (trial on the dismissal of a state employee). No general rule has ever evolved requiring corroboration of admissions in civil cases, except in limited instances inapplicable here. 7 Wigmore, §§ 2066, 2075.

But M.R.C. argues that because the State was required by the statute to prove that he committed acts constituting a felony,2 the concerns behind the corpus delicti rule are implicated and it should apply. In Aten, 130 Wn.2d at 656-57, our Supreme Court discussed the history of the corpus delicti rule:

The rule arose from a judicial distrust of confessions, coupled with the view that a confession admitted at trial would proba[57]*57bly be accepted uncritically by a jury, thus making it extremely difficult for a defendant to challenge.73 “This distrust stems from the possibility that the confession may have been misreported or misconstrued, elicited by force or coercion, based upon mistaken perception of the facts or law, or falsely given by a mentally disturbed individual.”74

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Bluebook (online)
989 P.2d 93, 98 Wash. App. 52, 1999 Wash. App. LEXIS 1975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mrc-washctapp-1999.