State v. SMH

887 P.2d 903, 76 Wash. App. 550
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided January 17, 1995·No. 31671-1-I·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

76 Wn. App. 550 (1995)
887 P.2d 903

THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent,
v.
S.M.H., Appellant.
In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of S.M.H., Petitioner.

No. 31671-1-I.

The Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One.

January 17, 1995.

*551 Mary Jane Ferguson of Washington Appellate Defender Association, for appellant.

Norm Maleng, Prosecuting Attorney, and Terri Rae Luken, Deputy, for respondent.

SCHOLFIELD, J.[*]

S.M.H., a juvenile, appeals the trial court's order denying his motion to modify the portion of his disposition requiring him to register as a sex offender under RCW 9A.44.130. S.M.H. argues that the sex offender registration statute does not apply to juveniles who are found to have committed an offense with sexual motivation under the juvenile sexual motivation statute, RCW 13.40.135. He alternatively argues that if he is required to register as a sex offender, the sentencing court exceeded its jurisdiction by refusing to order the termination of that requirement when he turns 21. S.M.H. also asserts that, when applied to juveniles, the sex offender registration statute constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. S.M.H.'s personal restraint petition makes the same challenges and has been consolidated with this appeal. We affirm the trial court's order but grant the personal restraint petition.

On July 16, 1991, in the juvenile department of superior court, S.M.H. was found to have committed one count of second degree burglary with sexual motivation.[1] That adjudication *552 resulted from an incident in which S.M.H. broke into a home, entered a bedroom, and stole a vibrator and a box of condoms. State v. Halstien, 65 Wn. App. 845, 829 P.2d 1145 (1992), aff'd, 122 Wn.2d 109, 857 P.2d 270 (1993).

At the disposition hearing, the trial court gave S.M.H. written notice of his statutory duty to register as a sex offender.[2] A handwritten note appearing above S.M.H.'s signature on the notice reads: "I reserve the right to challenge this at a later hearing but will observe these requirements until a court orders otherwise."

S.M.H. subsequently appealed his disposition. In that direct appeal, S.M.H. did not challenge the registration requirement. The Court of Appeals affirmed the disposition (see Halstien, 65 Wn. App. at 856), and the Supreme Court granted S.M.H.'s petition for review.

While his petition for review was pending, S.M.H. filed in juvenile court a "Motion to Modify Invalid Sentence" which alleged that the juvenile court lacked statutory authority to require him to register as a sex offender under RCW 9A.44.130. That motion alternatively alleged that if he were required to register, the juvenile court's jurisdiction over the matter would terminate when he turned 21. S.M.H. then moved to consolidate his motion to modify with his petition for review. The Supreme Court denied that motion to consolidate but allowed S.M.H. to supplement his petition to argue about the registration requirement. State v. Halstien, 122 Wn.2d 109, 115, 857 P.2d 270 (1993).

On September 28, 1992, the juvenile court denied S.M.H.'s motion to modify with the following written order:

This matter could have been raised at first appeal. Court denies without prejudice Respondent's motion to terminate registration *553 requirement at age 21, with leave to raise this issue at a later time as appropriate.

The Supreme Court affirmed S.M.H.'s disposition on August 19, 1993, but did not address the registration issue. Halstien, 122 Wn.2d at 129-30.

S.M.H. timely appealed the juvenile court's order denying his motion to modify and filed a personal restraint petition which is consolidated with this appeal.

We initially are presented with the issue of whether we should review S.M.H.'s direct appeal of the registration requirement. The State contends that we should refuse to review S.M.H.'s challenge to the registration requirement in this context because he failed to raise that issue during the initial direct appeal of his disposition. However, given our decision below to grant S.M.H.'s personal restraint petition, we need not decide the viability of S.M.H.'s direct appeal.

The second issue presented is whether we should reach the merits of the registration argument through S.M.H.'s personal restraint petition. The State contends that S.M.H. has failed to meet the burdens associated with a personal restraint petition.

[1] To justify collateral review of a conviction or a sentence, a petitioner must first show the "facts upon which the petitioner's claim of unlawful restraint is based", along with "the evidence reasonably available to support the factual allegations". In re Williams, 111 Wn.2d 353, 364, 759 P.2d 436 (1988); see also In re Cook, 114 Wn.2d 802, 792 P.2d 506 (1990). "[T]he appellate court ... will reach the merits of a nonconstitutional issue when the claimed error constitutes a fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice." Cook, 114 Wn.2d at 813.

To determine whether S.M.H. has demonstrated that his registration requirement is based on "a fundamental defect" that results in "a complete miscarriage of justice", we must address the merits of his argument, and thus we must decide whether the sex offender registration statute applies to juvenile offenders found to have committed an offense with sexual motivation. S.M.H. maintains he is not subject to the *554 registration requirement because the registration statute's definition of "sex offense" does not expressly include the juvenile sexual motivation statute, RCW 13.40.135, and the juvenile court had to have made its finding of sexual motivation under RCW 13.40.135 because S.M.H. is a juvenile.[3] The State argues that the omission of RCW 13.40.135 from the applicable definition of "sex offense" was merely a drafting error, and reading the registration statute and the sexual motivation statutes as a whole reveals the Legislature's intent to require juveniles to register if they are found to have committed a felony with sexual motivation.

The registration statute reads in pertinent part:

(1) Any adult or juvenile residing in this state who has been found to have committed or has been convicted of any sex offense shall register with the county sheriff for the

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

State v. SMH, 887 P.2d 903, 76 Wash. App. 550 (Wash. Ct. App. 1995).

887 P.2d 903 (State v. SMH) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

In Re The Detention Of: Alberto S. Lane
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014
State v. Lane
332 P.3d 1042 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014)
State v. Taylor
162 Wash. App. 791 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
In re the Detention of Martin
163 Wash. 2d 501 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
In Re Detention of Martin
182 P.3d 951 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
State v. Whalen
588 S.E.2d 677 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2003)
State v. A.S.
65 P.3d 676 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2003)
State v. Delgado
63 P.3d 792 (Washington Supreme Court, 2003)
In Re the Personal Restraint of Metcalf
963 P.2d 911 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1998)
State v. Wright
946 P.2d 792 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1997)
State v. Hennings
129 Wash. 2d 512 (Washington Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Cheatham
908 P.2d 381 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1996)