State v. Pruitt

187 P.3d 326
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided July 14, 2008·No. 60094-0-I, 60095-8-I·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

187 P.3d 326 (2008)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Lenny Ray PRUITT, Appellant.

Nos. 60094-0-I, 60095-8-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

July 14, 2008.

*328 Oliver Ross Davis, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Barbara A. Mack, King County Prosecutor's Office, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

COX, J.

¶ 1 An accused has a constitutional right "`to be present in his own person whenever his presence has a relation, reasonably substantial, to the [fullness] of his opportunity to defend against the charge,'" even in situations where the defendant is not actually confronting witnesses or evidence against him.[1] This right is not unlimited, for example, "when presence would be useless, or the benefit but a shadow."[2] But an accused "is guaranteed the right to be present at any stage of the criminal proceeding that is critical to its outcome if his presence would contribute to the fairness of the procedure."[3] A violation of a constitutional right is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt where the "untainted" evidence is so overwhelming that it necessarily leads to a finding of guilt.[4]

¶ 2 Here, Lenny Pruitt was not present during a bench trial in drug court to determine his guilt on a charge of second degree possession of stolen property, a stolen access device. The State has failed in its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this constitutional error was harmless. We reverse.

¶ 3 The facts are not complicated. In May 2003, police responded to a report of a burglary and discovered Pruitt at the rear of the building where the crime allegedly occurred. Based on the items in his possession at the time, the police arrested him on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property. The State charged him with second degree burglary based on these events.

¶ 4 In April 2005, the State amended the second degree burglary charge to the sole charge of second degree possession of stolen property under RCW 9A.56.160(1)(c), the alternative based on a stolen access device. The record indicates that this amendment was conditioned on Pruitt's acceptance into drug court based on a Drug Diversion Court Waiver and Agreement dated June 2005.

¶ 5 In December 2005, police responded to a report of shoplifting at a drugstore. When police arrived at the scene, Pruitt had been apprehended by a loss prevention officer. In a search incident to arrest, the police discovered two bindles of heroin on him. Based on these events, the State charged him with violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act (VUCSA). Pruitt subsequently executed another Drug Diversion Court Waiver and Agreement dated April 2006.

¶ 6 The two drug diversion agreements required Pruitt to enter into a drug court diversion program. In exchange for entering the program, he was to obtain an eventual dismissal with prejudice of the charges against him if he complied with the program's requirements.[5] He also agreed that if he failed to comply with all requirements of the drug treatment program, he would submit to a bench trial on the charges. Under the terms of the agreements, Pruitt waived several important rights: his right to a jury trial, his right to call and cross-examine witnesses, and his right to challenge the admissibility of evidence against him.

*329 ¶ 7 Pruitt failed to comply with the drug treatment requirements and voluntarily terminated from the program. On May 4, 2007, the drug court ordered Pruitt terminated from the treatment program. On that same date, the court orally found him guilty of second degree possession of stolen property "whose value was greater than $250.00 yet less than $1,500.00." The drug court did not enter written findings or conclusions on that date. However, it entered a judgment and sentence stating that Pruitt was guilty of violating "RCW 9A.56.160(1)(c)," which criminalizes possession of a stolen access device.

¶ 8 This appeal followed.[6]

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

¶ 9 In his opening brief on appeal, Pruitt challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction of second degree possession of stolen property worth between $250 and $1,500, as orally stated by the drug court judge following the bench trial. We accept the State's concession of error that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction on this basis.

¶ 10 In a criminal case, evidence is sufficient if, viewed in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could find each element of the crime proved beyond a reasonable doubt.[7] To convict for possession of stolen property, the State must prove actual or constructive possession of the property that has been stolen and actual or constructive knowledge that the property was stolen.[8] A person is guilty of second degree possession of stolen property if he or she possesses stolen property that exceeds $250 in value but does not exceed $1,500 in value.[9]

¶ 11 The State properly concedes in its Brief of Respondent that the evidence is insufficient to convict Pruitt of possessing property worth between $250 and $1,500. There is no evidence in the record to support this May 4, 2007 conviction.

ADJUDICATION OF GUILT ON ALTERNATE MEANS

¶ 12 In his opening brief, Pruitt also assigned error to the trial court's failure to enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law, as required by CrR 6.1(d), at the time of the May 4, 2007 conviction. In response to this argument and the challenge to the sufficiency of evidence that we previously discussed in this opinion, the State took several actions to which Pruitt objects.

¶ 13 Without notice to either Pruitt or his appellate counsel of record, the State returned to the drug court and sought a conviction for the charge of second degree possession of stolen property, a stolen access device. Pruitt was not present at that trial to determine guilt. Nevertheless, the drug court reviewed the proffered evidence and found Pruitt guilty of possession of stolen property in the form of a stolen access device (credit card number). Thereafter, over the objections of Pruitt's counsel at that trial, the court entered written findings and conclusions based on finding Pruitt guilty of that charge.[10]

¶ 14 The State then filed its Brief of Respondent in this appeal. This brief ignores Pruitt's challenge in his opening brief to the sufficiency of evidence to support the May 4, 2007 conviction for possession of stolen property valued between $250 and $1,500. Rather, this brief characterizes the drug court's original adjudication as "an error in [the court's] verbal conclusions of law," remedied by the court's subsequent adjudication for possession of a stolen access device. This brief also notes that findings and conclusions supporting the second adjudication were entered by the drug court in January 2008.

*330 ¶ 15 Pruitt moved to strike the Brief of Respondent in its entirety. Having denied his motion to strike the State's brief in its entirety, we now consider his arguments in the motion as his Reply B

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State v. Pruitt, 187 P.3d 326 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

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