State of Washington v. Melissa Lynne Kerns
33831-2
| Wash. Ct. App. | Aug 9, 2016Background
- Melissa Kerns was convicted by jury of attempting to elude a police vehicle and hit-and-run (injury).
- Sentenced to concurrent terms (29 and 60 months) after denial of a prison-based DOSA request due to unsuitability.
- Court imposed only mandatory legal financial obligations (LFOs), including a $100 DNA collection fee under RCW 43.43.7541; Kerns did not object at sentencing or raise constitutional challenges below.
- On appeal, Kerns argued the statutory $100 DNA fee violated substantive due process and equal protection.
- In a statement of additional grounds, Kerns asserted ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to call witnesses/present extrarecord evidence supporting duress and for not pursuing drug/mental health evaluations to support DOSA.
- The court treated claims relying on evidence outside the record as matters for a personal restraint petition rather than direct appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of $100 DNA collection fee under RCW 43.43.7541 (due process/equal protection) | Kerns: fee violates substantive due process and equal protection | State: statute is valid; identical challenges rejected by prior appellate decisions | Court affirmed; rejected Kerns's constitutional challenges, following prior rulings |
| Ineffective assistance for failure to call witnesses/present extrarecord evidence (duress) | Kerns: counsel refused to call witnesses and failed to present 911/hospital/photos that would support duress | State: such claims rely on evidence outside the trial record and cannot be resolved on direct appeal | Court declined to consider extrarecord ineffective-assistance claims on appeal; noted the proper remedy is a personal restraint petition |
| Ineffective assistance for not pursuing past/new drug or mental-health evaluations to obtain DOSA | Kerns: counsel failed to use past evaluations or request new evaluation to support DOSA suitability | State: record-based direct-appeal review cannot resolve claims dependent on evidence outside the record | Court held such claims are inappropriate for direct appeal and require a personal restraint petition |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-pronged ineffective assistance test: deficient performance and prejudice)
- State v. McFarland, 127 Wn.2d 322 (Wash. 1995) (claims based on evidence outside the record must be pursued by personal restraint petition)
- State v. Mathers, 193 Wn. App. 913 (Wash. Ct. App. 2016) (rejecting constitutional challenges to DNA fee statute)