State v. Polo

282 P.3d 1116, 169 Wash. App. 750
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 6, 2012
DocketNo. 66248-1-I
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 282 P.3d 1116 (State v. Polo) 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. Polo, 282 P.3d 1116, 169 Wash. App. 750 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Schindler, J.

¶1 Pedro Enrique Polo appeals his conviction of possession of a stolen vehicle. In the first trial, a jury convicted Polo of possession of a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence (DUI). On appeal, the State [752]*752conceded the conviction of possession of a stolen vehicle should be dismissed without prejudice. We accepted the State’s concession, reversed the conviction, and remanded.1 On remand, the State filed an amended information charging Polo with possession of a stolen vehicle. Over the repeated objection of the defense during the second trial, the court allowed the State to rely on the prior DUI conviction to establish that Polo was in possession of the stolen vehicle. We hold the court impermissibly relieved the State of proving an essential element of the crime of possession of a stolen vehicle, and reverse and remand.

FACTS

First Trial

¶2 On March 30, 2009, the State charged Polo with possession of a stolen vehicle in violation of RCW 9A.56.068 and DUI in violation of RCW 46.61.502(1). Polo pleaded not guilty. The State called a number of witnesses to testify. The jury convicted Polo of possession of a stolen vehicle and DUI. The court entered the judgment and sentence on April 6, 2009.

¶3 On appeal, Polo argued that the information did not allege an essential element of the crime of possession of a stolen vehicle, and the judgment and sentence inaccurately stated that the DUI conviction was a felony for purposes of license revocation under RCW 46.20.285. The State conceded the information did not allege the essential element of knowledge and the conviction should be dismissed without prejudice. The State also conceded the judgment and sentence erroneously states that the DUI is a felony. We accepted the State’s concessions, reversed the conviction for [753]*753possession of a stolen motor vehicle without prejudice, and remanded.2

Second Trial

¶4 On remand, the State filed an amended information charging Polo with possession of a stolen vehicle in violation of RCW 9A.56.068. The State alleged that on January 24, 2009, Polo “did knowingly possess a stolen vehicle to wit: 2003 Chevy K1 pickup, knowing that it had been stolen.” Polo pleaded not guilty. The court scheduled the trial to begin on November 12, 2010.

¶5 On the first day of trial, the State filed a motion to instruct the jury that “the defendant was the driver of the motor vehicle in question.” The State argued that the doctrine of collateral estoppel prevented relitigation of the fact that Polo “was convicted of driving the motor vehicle [,] putting him in actual control of the vehicle and establishing the fact that he possessed the vehicle.”

¶6 At the beginning of the trial, the prosecutor asked the court to rule on the motion, stating, “I think well be able to save the county some money if the court rules in my favor.” The prosecutor told the court:

[T]his was a huge circumstantial evidence case to show the defendant was driving. That was the whole gist of this case. I had to put forth three lay witnesses, a dog tracker, three deputies. It was really something. That’s the conclusion [the jury] came to.

¶7 The defense objected to allowing the State to use the prior DUI conviction to establish possession of the stolen vehicle.

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]:... But this is a drunk driving case and suddenly we are going to now take a new jury and what are we going to tell them we have established, that he was driving. How do you do that?
[754]*754THE COURT: He was in possession of the vehicle.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: How are they going to do that? Some other jury decided that. He is not going to be stipulating to that.

¶8 In response to the defense objection, the court stated that as a matter of law the conviction established Polo “was in possession of the vehicle that he was driving.” The court then stated it would instruct the jury accordingly, but the State had the burden of proving the vehicle was stolen.

No. The court would just instruct the jury that the court as a matter of law has found that the defendant was in possession of the vehicle that he was driving. Then the State has the burden of proving that the vehicle he was driving was in fact a vehicle that was stolen.

¶9 The prosecutor agreed with the court. The prosecutor said that the State planned to introduce into evidence the DUI judgment and sentence, and then call Whatcom County Sherriff Deputy Michelle Boyd and the owner of the truck to establish the vehicle was stolen.

Yes, Your Honor. I intend to do so with having testimony from the victim, the owner of the vehicle, as well as Michelle Boyd to testify. [Polo] was found guilty of driving that automobile. Those were the facts. That was litigated and that was the issue decided by that jury.
Counsel asked about previous convictions and how that would apply. I looked at a lot of case law and there were some cases that looked at, well, you know, a parole board if they decide that the person has violated this condition and that’s also a criminal charge, should that be collateral estoppel to show this guy committed this new crime? And the answer is yes. The Court of Appeals didn’t want to set a policy, they felt it was bad policy to have a parole board make a finding instead of a jury.

¶10 The defense attorney objected and pointed out that the prior judgment and sentence did not support the determination that Polo was driving the 2003 Chevy K1 pickup truck.

[755]*755There’s no finding in the record that [Polo] was driving a Mack truck, a VW [Volkswagon], anything. That judgment says he was driving a motor vehicle under the influence or while impaired by alcohol or drugs. That judgment technically doesn’t say he was driving that particular vehicle.

The court granted, the State’s motion to instruct the jury that as a matter of law, the DUI conviction established Polo was in possession of the 2003 Chevy K1 pickup truck.

¶11 When the trial reconvened, the defense attorney argued that instructing the jury that the DUI conviction established possession of the pickup truck would be an improper comment on the evidence. Defense counsel also argued that the instruction relieved the State of the burden of proving an essential element of the crime of possession of a stolen vehicle.

[Polo] is entitled to have every element of the charge proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The ruling says that element does not have to be proved again at this trial. I think that’s the problem for this. I think every time I have heard you advise the jury that federal judges have the right to comment on the evidence; they’re going to see this as a comment on the evidence.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 P.3d 1116, 169 Wash. App. 750, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-polo-washctapp-2012.