State v. Williams

170 P.3d 30
Washington Supreme Court·Decided November 8, 2007·No. 78984-3·Published·Cited by 104 cases

Opinion

170 P.3d 30 (2007)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Demetrius T. WILLIAMS, Petitioner.

No. 78984-3.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued June 14, 2007.
Decided November 8, 2007.

*31 Constance Mary Crawley, Prosecutor's Office Snohomish Co. Courthouse, Everett, WA, for Respondent.

Nancy P. Collins, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, WA, for Petitioner.

J.M. JOHNSON, J.

¶ 1 The question before us is whether the classification of the underlying felony or misdemeanor is an essential element of bail *32 jumping and therefore must be included in both the information and the to-convict jury instruction.

¶ 2 A jury convicted Demetrius Williams of bail jumping based on the underlying charge of possession of a controlled substance. On appeal, Williams argues that the information should have identified the classification (A, B, C felony or misdemeanor) of the alleged crime. He also contends that the to-convict jury instruction should have contained the classification of his underlying offense.

¶ 3 We find that the penalty class of the underlying charge not an essential element of bail jumping and thus is not required in either the charging documents or the to-convict jury instruction. We therefore affirm the ruling of the appellate court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 4 On April 11, 2003, Demetrius T. Williams was charged in Snohomish County Superior Court with "possess[ion of] a controlled substance, to wit: cocaine; proscribed by RCW 69.50.401(d), a felony." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 102. The State's first information alleged Williams did "on or about the 11th day of February, 2003 . . . unlawfully possess a controlled substance." CP at 102-03. The affidavit of probable cause alleged that after Williams was arrested, a search of his person revealed several $100 bills in his pants pocket and 1.3 grams of cocaine. CP at 100.

¶ 5 On December 4, 2003, Williams missed his omnibus hearing, and the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Based on Williams' failure to appear at the hearing, the State filed an amended information on April 23, 2004, adding one count of bail jumping to the cocaine possession charge. At a pretrial suppression hearing on May 18, 2004, the trial court granted Williams' motion to suppress and dismissed the possession charge. On the same day, the State filed a second amended information charging Williams solely with bail jumping. The charging documents that accompanied the information alleged Williams had been charged with "Possession of a Controlled Substance, a felony . . . [and] did fail to appear as required, proscribed by RCW 9A.76.170(1), a felony." CP at 86.[1] A jury convicted Williams of felony bail jumping, and the trial court sentenced him to 43 months in prison.

¶ 6 On appeal, Williams argued that the penalty class of the underlying offense is an essential element of bail jumping. He contended that the charging information should have identified the classification (A, B, C felony or misdemeanor) of the alleged crime. He also argued that the to-convict jury instruction should have contained the classification of his underlying offense.

¶ 7 The Court of Appeals rejected Williams' arguments and upheld the trial court decision. State v. Williams, 133 Wash. App. 714, 136 P.3d 792 (2006). Applying this court's analysis in State v. Miller, 156 Wash.2d 23, 123 P.3d 827 (2005), the court concluded the express language of RCW 9A.76.170(1) set forth all of the essential elements of bail jumping. The court distinguished the singular crime of bail jumping from the various levels of penalties found in the third part of the statute. RCW 9A.76.170(3). It held that the penalty class of the underlying charge is not an implied essential element of the crime; it merely determines the sentencing length following the actual conviction.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 8 We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the charging document de novo. State v. Campbell, 125 Wash.2d 797, 801, 888 P.2d 1185 (1995). We also review the sufficiency of a to-convict instruction de novo. State v. Mills, 154 Wash.2d 1, 7, 109 P.3d 415 (2005). We review jury instructions "in the context of the instructions as a whole," State v. Pirtle, 127 Wash.2d 628, 656, 904 P.2d 245 (1995), and the reviewing court generally *33 "may not rely on other instructions to supply the element missing from the `to convict' instruction." State v. DeRyke, 149 Wash.2d 906, 910, 73 P.3d 1000 (2003) (quoting State v. Smith, 131 Wash.2d 258, 262-63, 930 P.2d 917 (1997)).

ANALYSIS

A. Charging Documents

¶ 9 In the instant case, Mr. Williams was charged with felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance under former RCW 69.50.401(d) (1998).[2] In analyzing the sufficiency of the charging information, we must first address whether the penalty classification (class A, B, C felony or misdemeanor) of bail jumping is an essential element of that crime. In Washington, a charging document must allege facts which support every element of the offense and must adequately identify the crime charged. State v. Leach, 113 Wash.2d 679, 689, 782 P.2d 552 (1989). The rationale behind including "essential elements" rather than only "statutory elements" is to give the accused proper notice of the nature of the crime so that the accused can prepare an adequate defense. State v. Kjorsvik, 117 Wash.2d 93, 101, 812 P.2d 86 (1991). However, we first look to the statute, because the legislature defines elements of crimes, to determine the elements "`that the prosecution must prove to sustain a conviction.'" Miller, 156 Wash.2d at 27, 123 P.3d 827 (quoting BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 559 (8th ed.2004)).

¶ 10 Bail jumping is defined in RCW 9A.76.170.[3] "[T]he elements of bail jumping are met if the defendant: (1) was held for, charged with, or convicted of a particular crime; (2) was released by court order or admitted to bail with the requirement of a subsequent personal appearance; and, (3) knowingly failed to appear as required." State v. Pope, 100 Wash.App. 624, 627, 999 P.2d 51

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