State Of Washington, V Tyler Morey Wallace
49592-9
| Wash. Ct. App. | Jan 9, 2018Background
- Tyler M. Wallace was convicted by a jury of second degree assault after slapping KN (mother of his child), retrieving a long knife, pointing it at her, and threatening to kill her while her two children were present.
- The jury was instructed that assault includes intent to create apprehension of imminent bodily injury and that such apprehension actually occurred.
- Wallace was represented by court‑appointed counsel on appeal; counsel filed an Anders motion to withdraw, identifying potentially arguable issues but concluding none had merit.
- The State agreed there were no nonfrivolous issues; Wallace was served with the motion and notified of his right to file additional grounds but filed none.
- The Court of Appeals independently reviewed the record and the issues raised by counsel and concluded each potential claim was frivolous. The court granted counsel’s motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the evidence (assault with a deadly weapon) | State: Evidence (slap, knife displayed, threat, fear of victim and children) supports conviction | Wallace: Conviction not supported by evidence (implicitly challenged) | Affirmed: Evidence sufficient; appeal frivolous |
| Admission of Facebook messages | State: Exhibit authenticated by witness and admissible under ER 613(b) as prior inconsistent statement | Wallace: Admission of Facebook exhibit was erroneous | Affirmed: Trial court did not abuse discretion admitting the Facebook exhibit |
| Ineffective assistance for not objecting to nonverbal identification of knife location | Wallace: Counsel should have argued Fifth Amendment/Miranda compulsion re: leading officer to knife | State: Officer Mirandized Wallace; defense waived CrR 3.5; record supports voluntariness | Affirmed: No deficient performance shown; claim frivolous |
| Any other nonfrivolous appellate issues | — | — | Court’s independent review found none |
Key Cases Cited
- Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (procedures when appellate counsel seeks to withdraw as frivolous)
- Hairston v. State, 133 Wn.2d 534 (Anders procedure in Washington)
- Theobald v. State, 78 Wn.2d 184 (granting withdrawal if appeal wholly frivolous)
- Homan v. State, 181 Wn.2d 102 (sufficiency of the evidence standard)
- Abuan v. State, 161 Wn. App. 135 (definition/instruction on assault apprehension)
- Garcia v. State, 179 Wn.2d 828 (abuse of discretion standard for evidentiary rulings)
- Bashaw v. State, 169 Wn.2d 133 (authentication requirement under ER 901)
- Estes v. State, 188 Wn.2d 450 (ineffective assistance standard)
- Spotted Elk v. State, 109 Wn. App. 253 (Fifth Amendment protection for production of incriminating evidence)
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (warning requirement before custodial interrogation)