Lead Opinion
In this personal restraint petition (PRP), we are asked to determine whether a defendant may withdraw his guilty plea when the plea form failed to inform him of the duration of mandatory community placement. Jerrod Duane Stoudmire, who pleaded guilty to several counts involving child molestation, claims that he would not have pleaded guilty had he known of the mandatory two-year term of residential placement after incarceration.
FACTS
On July 20, 1992, the State charged Stoudmire with one count of rape of a child in the second degree, under cause number 92-1-02984-9. On the same day, he was charged with two counts of indecent liberties, one count of statutory rape in the second degree, one count of rape of a child in the second degree, and one count of rape of a child in the third degree, under cause number 92-1-02985-7. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the prosecutor filed an amended information in the latter cause, charging one count of rape of a child in the second degree, and one count of assault in the third degree. All charges related to molesting children whom he was baby-sitting. The defendant entered guilty pleas to all charges.
The plea agreements stated that “[i]n addition to confinement, the judge will sentence me to community placement for at least 1 year,” and each contained language indicating that the prosecutor would recommend two years of community placement.
Because the parties had miscalculated the sentencing range and applicable offender score, Stoudmire withdrew his guilty pleas. But on September 20, 1993, Stoudmire entered guilty pleas again, this time to a second amended information charging the same crimes as the original information. By that time, he was already aware of the two-year mandatory placement.
At the sentencing hearing on September 28, 1993, the court imposed concurrent sentences totaling 198 months followed by two years of community placement. Stoudmire did not appeal, but on September 26, 1994, he filed a PRP, seeking to withdraw his plea because he was not informed of his correct offender scores or of the 15 percent limitation on earned early release time. On April 11, 1995, the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition. No appeal to this court was filed.
On January 20, 1999, Stoudmire, acting pro se, raised new issues in a second PRP. The Court of Appeals rejected the PRP, finding that he had not offered good cause for failing to raise the issues in the first PRP. This court granted discretionary review, and on August 10, 2000 granted relief on some of his claims, vacating the two convictions for indecent liberties and remanding for resentencing on some of the other convictions. In re Pers. Restraint of Stoudmire,
ANALYSIS
Successive Petition
The prohibition on successive PRPs found in RCW 10.73.140
[P]etitioner may resubmit this claim in a subsequent petition. RAP 16.4(d) bars consideration of a second petition “for similar relief” without a showing of good cause. Following the definition of “similar relief” in Sanders v. United States,373 U.S. 1 , 14,83 S. Ct. 1068 ,10 L. Ed. 2d 148 (1963), this court in In re Personal Restraint of Haverty,101 Wn.2d 498 , 502-03,681 P.2d 835 (1984) stated that a successive petition could be dismissed only where the prior application had been denied on grounds previously heard and determined on the merits. Since we are dismissing on procedural grounds petitioner’s claim to withdrawal of his guilty pleas to second and third degree rape, we did not consider it on its merits.
Stoudmire,
Time Bar Under RCW 10.73.090(1)
Motions for collateral attack, including PRPs, must normally be filed within one year of final judgment:
No petition or motion for collateral attack on a judgment and sentence in a criminal case may be filed more than one year after the judgment becomes final if the judgment and sentence is valid on its face and was rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
RCW 10.73.090(1). This petition was filed over five years after the final judgment, and is barred unless it falls under a statutory exception or the conviction is facially invalid.
Stoudmire first claims that his petition falls under the exception provided in RCW 10.73.100(6), which allows a claim to be raised at a later date when it is based on a significant change in the law. He supports this with dicta from the previous Stoudmire opinion, wherein this court opined that the community placement issue “appears to fall within RCW 10.73.100(6).” Stoudmire,
Stoudmire’s purported change in the law results from a 1996 case in which this court held that mandatory community placement is a direct consequence of a plea; i.e., a consequence that arises from the guilty plea itself rather than from other proceedings. State v. Ross,
One test to determine whether an appellate decision represents a significant change in the law is whether the defendant could have argued this issue before publication of the decision. In re Pers. Restraint of Holmes,
The Greening court clarified the meaning of significant change:
While litigants have a duty to raise available arguments in a timely fashion and may later be procedurally penalized for failing to do so . . . they should not be faulted for having omitted arguments that were essentially unavailable at the time, as occurred here. We hold that where an intervening opinion has effectively overturned a prior appellate decision that was originally determinative of a material issue, the intervening opinion constitutes a “significant change in the law” for purposes of exemption from procedural bars.
Id. at 697 (footnote omitted).
Ross did not “effectively overturn” a previous appellate decision, and the arguments used in the case were previously available to litigants. We therefore adhere to the holding of Olivera-Avila and hold that Ross does not represent a “significant change in the law.” Thus, this petition does not fall under the exception in RCW 10.73.100(6).
Facial Invalidity
An alternative argument made by Stoudmire is that the conviction is facially invalid. RCW 10.73.090(1) forbids collateral attack more than one year after judgment if the judgment and sentence is valid on its face. This court has held that the phrase “on its face” includes those documents signed as part of a plea agreement. Stoudmire,
The plea form signed by Stoudmire was approved by this court in former CrR 4.2(g)(6)(j). In it, he was advised that a mandatory term of “at least one year” of community placement applied, but not that the mandatory term was two years. Stoudmire was advised in the plea form and acknowledged that the prosecutor would recommend two years of community placement. He nevertheless claims that because of the reference to “at least one year” he was affirmatively misadvised.
Due process requires that a guilty plea be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. U.S. Const, amend. 14; Boykin v. Alabama,
Here, Stoudmire was aware of the prosecutor’s recommendation for a two-year placement, and knew that at least one year of community placement was mandatory. Thus, unlike the defendant in Rawson, Stoudmire knew that some term of mandatory community placement would be imposed. Stoudmire nevertheless argues that due process requires notice of the range of punishment in addition to the mere fact of punishment. We disagree. The plea form gave him adequate notice that mandatory community placement applied and that the prosecutor intended to recommend two years.
Yet, even if we were to hold that the plea agreement was facially invalid, Stoudmire’s claim still fails. Knowledge of the direct consequences of a guilty plea can be satisfied either by the plea documents or by clear and convincing extrinsic evidence. Wood v. Morris,
CONCLUSION
This PRP is procedurally barred under RCW 10.73.090(1). Stoudmire has not provided a statutory exemption to the time bar, nor has he demonstrated that the plea form is facially invalid. We therefore deny the petition.
Alexander, C.J., and Smith, Johnson, Ireland, and Owens, JJ., concur.
Notes
In deciding a previous PRP from Stoudmire, this court dismissed the issue he now raises on procedural grounds, holding that the issue could not be raised in a “mixed” PRP but stating in dicta that Stoudmire would not be barred from raising the issue in a separate PRP. In re Pers. Restraint of Stoudmire,
State’s Resp. to Pers. Restraint Pet., Apps. F, G.
If a person has previously filed a petition for personal restraint, the court of appeals will not consider the petition unless the person certifies that he or she has not filed a previous petition on similar grounds, and shows good cause why the petitioner did not raise the new grounds in the previous petition. Upon receipt of a personal restraint petition, the court of appeals shall review the petition and determine whether the person has previously filed a petition or petitions and if so, compare them. If upon review, the court of appeals finds that the petitioner has previously raised the same grounds for review, or that the petitioner has failed to show good cause why the ground was not raised earlier, the court of appeals shall dismiss the petition on its own motion without requiring the state to respond to the petition.
RCW 10.73.140.
The appellate court will only grant relief by a personal restraint petition if other remedies which may be available to petitioner are inadequate under the circumstances and if such relief may be granted under RCW 10.73.090, .100, and .130. No more than one petition for similar relief on behalf of the same petitioner will be entertained without good cause shown.
RAP 16.4(d).
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring) — I respectfully disagree with the majority’s position that there has been no change in the law, but nevertheless concur in the result on the grounds that the Petitioner suffered no prejudice.
Jerrod Stoudmire’s personal restraint petition was submitted in January 1999, over five years after the judgment and sentencing, and is therefore time barred unless it falls under one of the exceptions provided in RCW 10.73.100. An enumerated exception occurs where there has been a significant, intervening, retroactive change in the law:
The time limit specified in RCW 10.73.090 does not apply to a petition or motion that is based solely on one or more of the following grounds:
(6) There has been a significant change in the law, whether substantive or procedural, which is material to the conviction, sentence, or other order entered in a criminal or civil proceeding instituted by the state or local government, and either the legislature has expressly provided that the change in the law is to be applied retroactively, or a court, in interpreting a change in the law that lacks express legislative intent regarding retroactive application, determines that sufficient reasons exist to require retroactive application of the changed legal standard.
RCW 10.73.100(6).
This Court has held that “where an intervening opinion has effectively overturned a prior appellate decision that was originally determinative of a material issue, the intervening opinion constitutes a ‘significant change in the law’ for purposes of exemption from procedural bars.” In re Pers. Restraint of Greening,
It is well established that a defendant must be informed of all direct consequences of a plea. See State v. Barton,
According to the majority, Ross does not change the law, because no court had previously held that community placement was not a direct consequence. See State v. Olivera-Avila,
Although I would hold that this personal restraint petition is not time barred and that Stoudmire should thus have been allowed to withdraw his plea if he could show prejudice, I nevertheless concur with the result reached by the majority. Stoudmire has the burden of establishing a prima facie case of actual prejudice. In re Pers. Restraint of Hews,
Madsen, J., concurs with Chambers, J.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting) — I agree with the majority that Jerrod Stoudmire’s personal restraint petition (PRP) is not a successive petition barred by RCW 10.73.140 or RAP 16.4(d). See majority at 262-63. I also agree with Justice Chambers that Jerrod Stoudmire’s PRP is not time barred. See concurrence at 267-69. However, unlike Justice Chambers, I believe Stoudmire has made out a prima facie case of actual prejudice and thus would hold he is entitled to a reference hearing.
I. The RCW 10.73.100(6) Exception to the One-Year Statute of Limitation
If Stoudmire meets the requirements in RCW 10.73.100(6), his PRP is not time barred. This statutory exception to the one-year time limit applies when:
There has been a significant change in the law, whether substantive or procedural, which is material to the conviction, sentence, or other order entered in a criminal or civil proceeding instituted by the state or local government, and either the legislature has expressly provided that the change in the law is to be applied retroactively, or a court, in interpreting a change in the law that lacks express legislative intent regarding retroactive application, determines that sufficient reasons exist to require retroactive application of the changed legal standard.
RCW 10.73.100(6) (emphasis added). Thus, to take advantage of this exception, Stoudmire must show a (1) significant change in the law, (2) material to his conviction, and (3) the changed legal standard applies retroactively.
Although Justice Chambers concludes Stoudmire is not time barred under RCW 10.73.100(6), he does not consider all the inherent requirements in the statute.*
II. Retroactivity
Stoudmire relies on a rule announced in State v. Ross,
Due process requires guilty pleas be voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. State v. Walsh,
Because Stoudmire can show a (1) significant change in the law, (2) material to his conviction, and (3) the changed legal standard applies retroactively, his PRP is excepted under RCW 10.73.100(6) from the general one-year statute of limitation.
III. Prima Facie Prejudice
Even if he successfully jumps through this procedural hoop, a petitioner still must adequately show he has been prejudiced. Therefore we must ask whether Stoudmire has made a prima facie case of actual prejudice arising from constitutional error. See In re Pers. Restraint of Hews,
If the defendant was not apprised of the proper sentencing consequences and states he would not have pleaded guilty had he known of them, the court should examine the record to determine whether the failure to inform was material to the plea of guilty. State v. Oseguera Acevedo,
Here, Stoudmire states unequivocally in an affidavit that had he known of the mandatory minimum term of two years, he would not have pleaded guilty. Had the State agreed to dismiss certain charges in exchange for the plea, i.e., a true plea “bargain,” it perhaps may be more inviting to doubt Stoudmire’s claim that community placement was a material factor in his plea decision. However, Stoudmire did not receive any benefit in exchange for pleading guilty; he pleaded guilty to all the crimes charged. Moreover, as discussed more fully below, like in Rawson, nothing in the record contradicts Stoudmire’s statement.
The plea forms themselves did not just fail to inform Stoudmire of the mandatory minimum two-year community placement—they misinformed Stoudmire that the mandatory
Justice Chambers also argues Stoudmire has not made a prima facie case of actual prejudice because he “acknowledged the prosecutor’s recommendation and did not take exception to it,” and the sentence imposed was the same as the prosecutor’s recommendation. Concurrence at 269. However, while the prosecutor recommended two years of community placement, the recommendation does not state two years is mandatory. Thus, by virtue of receiving the recommendation alone, Stoudmire was not informed of a direct consequence of the plea, which is the requirement. See Rawson,
Although never reaching the “actual prejudice” requirement, the majority asserts Stoudmire was on notice of the mandatory term due to receiving a presentence investigation (PSI). See majority at 267. However the PSI pertained to the first plea agreement which was vacated on other grounds. It also addressed charges different from those Stoudmire pleaded guilty to the second time. Lastly, all plea forms contained the misinformation about the mandatory minimum community placement. Thus, the PSI in the first plea did not even prompt the judge or the State to correct the error. See Rawson,
The trial court at the plea hearing never informed Stoudmire of the two-year mandatory community placement. The judge inquired into whether Stoudmire understood the prosecutor’s recommendation and the plea form itself. As noted above, the recommendation should not be a source of a defendant’s proper legal understanding of the direct consequences of a plea. Moreover, the plea form misadvised Stoudmire of the mandatory term.
Finally, on a purely syllogistic note, Stoudmire is able to show actual prejudice. As
IV. Conclusion
For these above reasons, I concur with Justice Chambers’ conclusion that Stoudmire can take exception to the one-year PRP filing deadline pursuant to RCW 10.73.100(6). However, I would also hold based on this record Stoudmire has shown at least a prima facie case of actual prejudice and therefore should at least be afforded a reference hearing. See Hews,
I therefore dissent.
Since the majority believes Stoudmire has not shown a significant change in the law, it need not consider the remaining RCW 10.73.100(6) requirements.
The meaning of this requirement was not adequately briefed, and our case law sheds little light on the subject. I would interpret “materiality” in RCW 10.73.100(6) as simply whether the change in the law is relevant or pertains to the conviction. If the word has a more stringent meaning, like “materiality’ for purposes of an “actual prejudice” analysis, that standard nonetheless is met in this case. See part III, infra.
Stoudmire pleaded guilty on two separate occasions, the former being vacated. Both pleas involved charges in two different informations with different cause numbers. See State’s Resp. to PRP, App. A (July 20, 1992 Information: # 92-1-02984-9); App. C (July 20, 1992 Information: # 92-1-02985-7); App. E (May 10, 1993 Am. Information: # 92-1-02985-7); App. N (Sept. 9, 1993 Second Am. Information: # 92-1-02985-7). Therefore, this case ultimately involves a total of four separate pleas, with four separate sets of plea forms. See id. at App. F (May 10, 1993 Statement of Def. on Plea of Guilty: # 92-1-02985-7); App. G (same: # 92-1-02984-9); App. M (Sept. 20, 1993 Statement of Def. on Plea of Guilty: # 92-1-02984-9); App. N (same: # 92-1-02985-7).
The State does not contest the law in 1993 required the judge to impose at least two years of community placement. See former ROW 9.94A.120(8)(b) (1993). Instead, the State attempts to argue “[t]he language ‘the judge will sentence me to community placement for at least 1 year’ is sufficient to advise a criminal defendant of the direct consequence of two years of community placement.” State’s Resp. to PRP at 17. How being advised of a one-year mandatory minimum suffices as advice of the required two-year mandatory minimum defies logic.
In Hews, Hews pleaded guilty to second degree murder. Hews,
