State of Washington v. Steven Ruiz Sibaja
33838-0
| Wash. Ct. App. | Feb 7, 2017Background
- Steven Ruiz-Sibaja received a SSOSA after pleading guilty to first-degree child rape, with conditions including no pornography and no alcohol.
- During a polygraph he admitted receiving and viewing nude photos from a 21-year-old and admitted consuming wine (small amounts at church and Christmas).
- Treatment providers and a corrections officer reported limited progress and questioned his honesty, recommending revocation.
- The trial court found Ruiz-Sibaja violated both the pornography and alcohol conditions and revoked his SSOSA; a written revocation followed.
- On appeal, the parties agreed the pornography-condition basis was unconstitutionally vague; the State argued the alcohol violation alone sufficed for revocation.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether revocation of SSOSA was an abuse of discretion given one invalid ground (pornography prohibition) | Ruiz-Sibaja: Revocation improper because one of the two stated bases was unconstitutionally vague, so revocation cannot stand absent reliance solely on a valid ground | State: Even removing the pornography basis, the alcohol violation (and limited treatment progress) independently justified revocation | Reversed and remanded: because the trial court relied on both grounds with no indication it would have revoked based on the alcohol violation alone, remand for a new revocation hearing is required |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Dahl, 139 Wn.2d 678 (1999) (SSOSA revocation standards)
- State v. Kuhn, 81 Wn.2d 648 (1972) (standard for abuse of discretion in revocation)
- State ex rel. Carroll v. Junker, 79 Wn.2d 12 (1970) (discretion abused when based on untenable grounds)
- State v. Sansone, 127 Wn. App. 630 (2005) (pornography/sexual-conduct condition vagueness)
- State v. Gaines, 122 Wn.2d 502 (1993) (remand required when sentencing/revocation rests on multiple grounds and some are invalid)
