Washington v. State

845 N.W.2d 205, 2014 WL 1344321, 2014 Minn. App. LEXIS 34
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 7, 2014
DocketNo. A13-1524
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 845 N.W.2d 205 (Washington v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Washington v. State, 845 N.W.2d 205, 2014 WL 1344321, 2014 Minn. App. LEXIS 34 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHNSON, Judge.

In 2004, while incarcerated at the Rush City correctional facility, Keith Eugene Washington assaulted a correctional officer. He was found guilty of four offenses and was sentenced to 96 months of additional imprisonment. Since then, Washington has challenged his conviction or his sentence on four occasions. In this case, Washington filed a motion to correct sentence pursuant to rule 27.03, subdivision 9, [208]*208of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, alleging three independent claims. The district court denied the motion. We conclude that Washington’s first and third claims should be treated as requests for postconviction relief and should be denied because they are procedurally barred. We conclude that Washington’s second claim is properly filed under rule 27.03, subdivision 9, but is without merit. Therefore, we affirm.

FACTS

In August 2004, Washington threw hot liquid in a correctional officer’s face and then repeatedly punched and chased the correctional officer as the officer attempted to flee. Before the incident was concluded, Washington threatened the correctional officer with a sock containing 24 AA batteries.

The state charged Washington with first-, second-, third-, and fourth-degree assault. Washington waived his right to a jury trial with respect to both his guilt and the facts relevant to an aggravated sentence. The district court conducted a court trial in October 2005 and found Washington guilty of attempted first-degree assault and second-, third-, and fourth-degree assault. In March 2006, the district court found that aggravating factors justified an upward durational departure under the dangerous repeat-offender statute. See Minn.Stat. § 609.1095 (2004). The district court imposed a sentence of 96 months of imprisonment without the possibility of supervised release and ordered that the sentence be served consecutively to the sentence that Washington was serving at the time of his offense. The district court also determined that Washington was not entitled to jail credit for the period between the commission of the offense and his conviction.

On direct appeal, Washington argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of attempted first-degree assault, that the district court erred by imposing an aggravated sentence based on its own findings, that the district court erred by imposing a fully executed sentence without the possibility of supervised release, and that the district court erred by adjudicating him guilty of second-, third-, and fourth-degree assault. This court affirmed in part and reversed in part. We affirmed Washington’s sentence and the findings of guilt with respect to attempted first-degree assault and second-degree assault. But we vacated his convictions of third-degree assault and fourth-degree assault on the ground that they are lesser-included offenses of second-degree assault. State v. Washington, No. A06-932, 2007 WL 2416867 (Minn.App. Aug. 28, 2007), review denied (Minn. Nov. 13, 2007).

Since his direct appeal, Washington has unsuccessfully attacked his conviction or his sentence on four occasions. First, in January 2008, Washington petitioned the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota for a writ of habeas corpus. The federal district court denied the petition in April 2009. Washington v. Benson, No. 08-135 (MJD/JJK), 2009 WL 943865 (D.Minn. Apr. 6, 2009).

Second, in November 2008, Washington petitioned the district court for postconviction relief under chapter 590 of the Minnesota Statutes. He challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the district court’s findings of guilt, challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his aggravated sentence, and claimed that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and at sentencing. The district court denied his petition on the grounds that his claims regarding his convictions and sentence were procedurally barred and that his claim of ineffective assistance [209]*209of counsel lacked factual support. This court affirmed. Washington v. State, No. A09-439, 2009 WL 4796645. (Minn.App. Dec. 15, 2009), review denied (Minn. Feb. 24, 2010).

Third, in June 2012, Washington filed a motion to correct sentence pursuant to rule 27.03, subdivision 9, of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure. He made two arguments: first, that his sentence is unlawful because the district court applied an incorrect version of the dangerous repeat-offender statute and, second, that he was entitled to jail credit. The district court rejected Washington’s first argument on the ground that it was procedurally barred. The district court rejected Washington’s second argument on the ground that Washington was not entitled to jail credit. On appeal, Washington argued that the district court erred with respect to the first issue, but he did not raise the second issue. This court affirmed but on different grounds, concluding that Washington’s first argument was not procedurally barred but was without merit because his sentence is authorized by law. Washington v. State, No. A12-1481, 2013 WL 1285527 (Minn.App. Apr. 1, 2013).

Fourth, in June 2013, in this case, Washington filed a second motion to correct sentence pursuant to rule 27.03, subdivision 9. His motion asserts three claims. First, he claims that his aggravated sentence is unlawful because the district court relied on an inaccurate record of his criminal history, which reflects prior convictions in the name of an alias. Washington does not contend that he did not commit the prior offenses; he contends only that the records evidencing the prior convictions are inaccurate because they do not reflect his true name. Second, Washington claims that he is entitled to jail credit. Third, Washington claims that the state failed to prove his identity beyond a reasonable a doubt during the guilt phase of his trial.

In July 2013, the district court denied Washington’s motion on multiple grounds. As an initial matter, the district court concluded that Washington’s motion should be “summarily denied” because he raised issues that “have been fully adjudicated and rejected” on multiple occasions. The district court also concluded that Washington’s first and second claims should be denied on the merits. With respect to Washington’s first claim, the district court reiterated its earlier findings that Washington previously was convicted of first-degree robbery and first-degree criminal sexual conduct, both of which are deemed violent crimes by the dangerous repeat-offender statute. With respect to Washington’s second claim, the district court reiterated its earlier analysis that Washington is not entitled to jail credit because of a statute specifically stating that an “inmate is not entitled to jail credit against the sentence imposed for the assault for time served in confinement for the earlier sentence.” See Minn.Stat. § 609.2232 (2004). The district court construed Washington’s third claim as a request for postconviction relief because it attacked the validity of his underlying conviction and concluded that it was procedurally barred. Washington appeals.

ISSUE

Did Washington properly file a motion to correct sentence pursuant to rule 27.03, subdivision 9, of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, and, if so, is he entitled to a correction of his sentence?

ANALYSIS

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Bluebook (online)
845 N.W.2d 205, 2014 WL 1344321, 2014 Minn. App. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-v-state-minnctapp-2014.