State of Washington v. Edward Leon Nelson, 37093-3

Edward Nelson was convicted of first-degree robbery and sentenced in 2016 to life without parole; the judgment imposed mandatory LFOs including a $500 crime victim penalty and a $100 DNA collection fee, plus interest; the court found Nelson indigent and waived discretionary fees.
At sentencing the judgment stated all financial obligations "shall bear interest" at the civil-judgment rate.
In 2018 the Legislature amended LFO statutes; the DNA-fee statute was revised to bar duplicate collection when DNA had already been collected for a prior conviction, and Ramirez held the 2018 amendments apply prospectively to cases pending on direct appeal.
Nelson filed a CrR 7.8 motion in 2019 arguing the DNA fee was now void as a duplicate; the State conceded and the trial court entered an agreed order striking the DNA fee without a recorded hearing.
Nelson appealed, arguing he had a right to be present and to counsel when the agreed order was entered; he also, for the first time on appeal, argued interest on non-restitution LFOs must be waived under the 2018 amendments.
The Court of Appeals affirmed removal of the DNA fee (finding the correction ministerial/clerical and not a critical stage) and remanded to strike interest on non-restitution LFOs per the 2018 amendments.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether entry of an agreed order striking the DNA fee violated Nelson's right to be present and to counsel	Nelson: he had a due-process right to be present and a right to counsel at resentencing/when J&S was altered	State: removal was ministerial/clerical (void fee), unopposed, so no critical stage triggering presence or counsel	Court: no right to be present or to counsel for the ministerial/clerical correction; entry of agreed order was proper (harmless if any counsel error)
Whether interest on non-restitution LFOs must be waived/struck	Nelson: interest provision must be struck under the 2018 LFO amendments and Ramirez	State: did not contest this issue on appeal	Court: remand to strike/waive all interest on non-restitution LFOs accrued before June 7, 2018 and to stop future accrual as provided by the 2018 amendments

State v. Ramirez, 191 Wn.2d 732 (Wash. 2018) (2018 LFO amendments apply prospectively to cases pending on direct appeal)
State v. Catling, 193 Wn.2d 252 (Wash. 2019) (DNA collection fee is mandatory unless DNA previously collected)
State v. Klump, 80 Wn. App. 391 (Wash. Ct. App. 1996) (trial court may correct clerical errors in a judgment and sentence)
State v. Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d 303 (Wash. 1996) (CrR 7.8 permits amendment of a judgment to correct an erroneous sentence)
State v. Heddrick, 166 Wn.2d 898 (Wash. 2009) (Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies at critical stages)
State v. Robinson, 153 Wn.2d 689 (Wash. 2005) (appointment of counsel for CrR 7.8-like proceedings is governed by harmless-error review)
In re Pers. Restraint of Lord, 123 Wn.2d 296 (Wash. 1994) (core right to be present when evidence is presented)