— Pеrsonal restraint petitioner Jerry Goodwin seeks relief from his sentence on the ground that his offender score was miscalculated because juvenile offenses that had “washed out” were used to determine the score. He asks to be resentenced based upon a corrected offender score. We grant the petition, vacate the sentence, and remand for resentencing.
Facts
On August 17,1998, the State charged personal restraint petitioner Jerry Goodwin with one count of intent to manufacture methamphetamine and one count of possession of psеudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. As to each count, the State alleged that Goodwin was armed with a firearm. The State also charged Goodwin with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. On September 22, 1998, as part of a negotiated plea agreement, the State filed an amended information charging Goodwin with one count of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. Goodwin entered an Alford plea of guilty to these charges.
Goodwin’s statement on pleа of guilty shows that the standard range for the conspiracy charge (an unranked offense) was 0 to 12 months, and
On the same day, September 22,1998, the trial court held a sentencing hearing and entered a judgment and sentence that listed Goodwin’s criminal history as auto theft, burglary 2, and robbery, all committed when Goodwin was a juvenile, and robbery, committed when Goodwin was an adult. The judgment and sentence includes Goodwin’s birth date, June 10, 1970. The trial court determined that Goodwin’s offender score was 4, and imposed a sentence of 12 months аnd one day on the conspiracy count and 48 months on the count of unlawful possession of a firearm, in accord with the plea agreement.
Goodwin did not file an appeal. On December 5, 2000, he filed a pro se personal
Goodwin filed a motion for discretionary review in this court. Consideration of the motion was stayed pending this court’s decision in Smith,
Analysis
Initially, the State appropriately concedes that Goodwin may challenge his sentence despite the one-year bar of RCW 10.73.090 because the judgment and sentence appears invalid on its face. RCW 10.73.090(1) provides that “[n]o 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.” In determining what “valid on its face” means for purposes of RCW 10.73.090, we have referred to a case involving the question whether the State had to prove the constitutional validity of all prior convictions used in determining a sentence under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981. In re Pers. Restraint of Stoudmire,
We have never held, however, that RCW 10.73.090 requires, merely by use of the words “valid on its face,” that the only type of invalidity that will prevent operatiоn of the one-year bar to filing a personal restraint petition is constitutional infirmity. By its plain language, the statute does not state that “valid” means “constitutionally valid.” As we reasoned in Stoudmire and Thompson, under RCW 10.73.090(1), “invalid on its face” means the judgment and sentence evidences the invalidity without further elaboration.
When nonconstitutional grounds are asserted for relief from personal restraint, the petitioner “must establish (1) he or she is being unlawfully restrained, (2) due to a ‘fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice.’ ” In re Pers. Restraint of Fleming,
We first address the waiver issue raised by the State in the briefing we requested on the effect of the Smith decision. At the outset, we acknowledge that some of our cases are somewhat inconsistent on this question.
This court recently held, in a case in which no negotiated plea agreement was involved, that a petitioner is unlawfully restrained “to the extent he [or she] was sentenced on the basis of an incorrect calculation of his [or her] offender score.” In re Pers. Restraint of Johnson,
The analysis in Johnson accords with early cases in this state, which drew a distinction between errors in a judgment resulting from some error or irregularity occurring at or before trial, and sentences imposed without jurisdiction or in excess of that authorized by law. While a judgment and sentence could not be successfully challenged on habeas corpus if it were merely erroneous, sentences in excess of lawful authority could be successfully challenged. E.g., In re Application of Casey,
The court has often reaffirmed the principle that a sentence in excess of statutory authority is subject to challenge, and the defendant is entitled to be resentenced. For example, in In re Personal Restraint of Carle,
The same rule has been applied in cases involving negotiated plea agreements, and this court has consistently rejected arguments that a defendant must be held to the consequences of a plea agreement to an excessive sentence. For example, in the same year that Carle was decided, the court also decided In re Personal Restraint of Gardner,
Similarly, in State v. Eilts,
The holdings of Carle and Moore have continued to be recognized by this court. In Fleming,
Thus, there is a substantial body of law demonstrating that a defendant cannot, by way of a negotiated plea agreement, agree to a sentence in excess of that authorized by statute and thus cannot waive a challenge to such a sentence. However, unlike the cases discussed above, two recent decisions by this court cast doubt on the continuing efficacy of those decisions. These сases indicate that a challenge to a sentence in excess of that authorized by statute may be waived by a plea agreement where the defendant agrees to the unauthorized sentence, including sentences resulting from incorrect offender scores. In In re Personal Restraint of Call,
This court said that the invited error doctrine does not apply to validate a sentence based upon an incorrect offender score, and also said that where an offender’s sentence is based upon a miscalculated offender score, a complete miscarriage of justice has occurred that requires relief from restraint, i.e., resentencing based upon a correct offender score. Call,
Shortly after Call was decided, the court again addressed a personal restraint petitioner’s claim that his offender score had been miscalculated. In re Pers. Restraint of Connick,
Call and Connick both suggest that, depending upon the circumstances, a defendant can waive any challenge to a miscalculated offender score by agreeing to that score (or to criminal history on which the score is basеd) in a plea agreement or by other stipulation.
We take this opportunity to clarify the law. In keeping with long-established precedent, we adhere to the principles that a sentence in excess of statutory authority is subject to collateral attack, that a sentence is excessive if based upon a miscalculated offender score (miscalculated upward), and that a defendant cannot agree to punishment in excess of that which the Legislature has established. Accordingly, we hold that in general a defendant cannot waive a challengе to a miscalculated offender score. There are limitations on this holding. While waiver does not apply where the alleged sentencing error is a legal error leading to an excessive sentence, waiver can be found where the alleged error involves an agreement to facts, later disputed, or where the alleged error involves a matter of trial court discretion.
Thus, for example, waiver may be found where a defendant stipulates to incorrect facts. The decision in State v. Majors,
In addition, waiver may be found in a case like State v. Nitsch,
We note that our holding is supported by the rule that a court is not bound by an erroneous concession related to a matter of law. State v. Knighten,
In Goodwin’s case therе is not, and never has been, merely a factual dispute. The judgment and sentence on its face shows that Goodwin’s offender score was miscalculated. Nor is there any sentencing court discretion at issue. There is simply no question that Goodwin’s offender score was miscalculated, and his sentence is as a matter of law in excess of what is statutorily permitted for his crimes given a correct offender score. Goodwin cannot waive the legal effect of his prior convictions under these circumstances because he cannot agree to a sentence in excess of that statutorily authorized. Therefore, his sentence, based upon an incorrect offender score, is fundamentally defective. Johnson,
The State maintains, however, that Goodwin cannot show a complete miscarriage of justice because he agreed to the criminal history in the plea agreement and the State has detrimentally relied on that agreement. The State says that the miscalculated offender score resulted from a mutual mistake. The State contends that the usual remedy is the defendant’s withdrawal of his guilty plea, leaving the State free tо reinstate the original charges. Here, the State says it cannot reinstate the original charges because the statute of limitations has run. The State urges that the court should leave the parties as it found them since the mistake cannot be corrected.
We reject this argument. Our focus is not the voluntariness of the plea agreement,
Second, it is also consistent with legislative intent that criminal history be correctly determined and the corresponding sentence be imposed. For example, RCW 9.94A.421 (formerly RCW 9.94A.080, recodified, Laws of 2001, ch. 10, § 6) provides that the prosecution cannot agree not to allege prior convictions. Thus, the State cannot by a plea agreement agree to less criminal history than exists, and cannot agree to a reduced offender score in this way. Similarly, the superior court rule on guilty pleas requires the defendant’s written statement, set out in substantially the form included in the rule when pleading guilty. CrR 4.2(g). That form states that if any additional criminal history is discovered, the defendant cannot change his or her mind about the agreement, even though the standard sentence range and prosecuting attorney’s recommendation may increase or a mandatory sentence of life without possibility of parole may result because of the additional criminal history. CrR 4.2(g), Statement of Defendant on Plea of Guilty, 6(d).
We grant Goodwin’s personal restraint petition, vacate his sentence, and remand his case for resentencing using a correct offender score. See Johnson,
Alexander, C.J., and Smith, Johnson, Sanders, Ireland, Bridge, Chambers, and Owens, JJ., concur.
Notes
North Carolina v. Alford,
Moreover, as we also reasoned in Stoudmire and Thompson, “on its face” has been interpreted to include the documents signed as part of a plea agreement, and thus we considered the plea agreements in each of those cases when assessing whether the judgments and sentences were valid on their face for purposes of RCW 10.73.090(1). In re Pers. Restraint of Stoudmire,
RCW 9.94A.441 (formerly RCW 9.94A.100, recodified, Laws of 2001, ch. 10, §6) provides: “The prosecuting attorney and the defendant shall each provide the court with their understanding of what the defendant’s criminal history is prior to a plea of guilty pursuant to a plea agreement.” The burden of establishing criminal history by a preponderance of the evidence lies with the prosecution. State v. Ford,
Johnson involved a miscalculation due to the sentencing court counting two prior convictions separately in conflict with this court’s later decision in In re Personal Restraint of Sietz,
While our holding differs from some of the analysis in In re Personal Restraint of Call,
The State’s proposed remedy is, in any event, incorrect where a plea agreement is involuntary because based on a mutual mistake. As the court observed in State v. Walsh,
Goodwin also raises a concern about the two robbery convictions listed as part of his criminal history. On remand, the sentencing court should determine whether one or two robberies were committed, and whether, if two, one “washes out.”
