STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Edgar Geca JAMISON, Appellant.
State of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Jose Wilmer Acosta, Appellant.
Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.
*1012 Nicholas W. Marchi, Carney & Marchi, Seattle, for Appellant Jamison.
Thоmas M. Kummerow, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, for Appellant Acosta.
James M. Whisman, King County Deputy Prosecutor, Seattle, for Respondent.
*1011 KENNEDY, J.
Jose Acosta and Edgar Jamison appeal their respective felony convictions, contending that custodial statements obtained by police without informing them of their rights as foreign nationals under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (Vienna Convention) mandates suppression of those statements. Acosta claims that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his custodial statement to the police because he was not informed of his right under the Vienna Convention to contact the Honduran Consulate. Jamison, whose Vienna Convention claim is presented in the context of a claim of ineffective assistаnce of counsel at the time of his guilty plea, contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to vacate judgment and sentence. He argues that his attorney denied him effective assistance during the plea process by failing to move to suppress his custodial statements on the basis that he was not informed of his right to contact the Philippine Consulate. As another basis for his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Jamison contends that his guilty plea was involuntary because his attorney failed to inform him that he definitely would be deported following his conviction and that he would not be allowed reentry into the United States.
The consolidated issue regarding a foreign national suspect's rights under the Vienna Convention will be addressed before discussing Acosta's and Jamison's individuаl claims.
VIENNA CONVENTION
Under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, of which the United States, Honduras and the Philippines are member nations, consular officials and nationals from their respective sending states are free to communicate with and to have access to one another. Article 36 states that "[w]ith a view to facilitating the exercise of consular functions relating to nationals of the sending State:"
....
[If the foreign national] so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. Any communication addressed to the consular post by the person arrested, in prison, custody or detention shall also be forwarded by the said authorities without delay. The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without *1013 delay of his rights under this subparagraph.
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, April 24, 1963, art. 36(1)(b), 21 U.S.T. 77, T.I.A.S. No. 6820 (entered into force for the United States December 24, 1969).[1] Article 36 also provides that "consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his representation." Id., art. 36(1)(c).
The obligations of consular notification and access are binding on states and local governments, as well as the federal government. See Article VI of the United States Constitution which provides that "all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." See also United States v. Arlington Cy.,
Division Three of this court recently addressed this issue in State v. Martinez-Lazo,
The Martinez-Lazo court based its ruling entirely on Lombera-Camorlinga and Li. Before deciding Li, the First Circuit Court of Appeals posed a series of questions to the Department of State, one of which requested the Department's "exact position on the question whether such treaties [as the Vienna Convention and a bilateral consular convention between the United States and China containing mandatory notification provisions similar to those contained in the bilateral agreement between the United States and the Philippines] may be invoked by defendants in criminal cases[.]" Department of State Answers to the Questions Posed by the First Circuit in United States v. Nai Fook Li ("Answers") at A-1.
We have studied the Answers in connection with this appeal. By way of summary of their content, the State Department is of the view that neither the Vienna Convention nor any of the bilateral consular conventions to which the United States is a party require that violation of consulate notification obligations be remedied through the criminal justice systems of the member states. Answers at A-1. Indeed, in the view of the State Department these treaties do not establish rights of individuals at all, but rather state-to-state rights and obligations relevant to the conduct of consular relations. Id. at A-3. Violations are remedied through diplomatic and political means and, where member nations have so agreed by becoming parties to an optional protocol of the Vienna Convention, before the International Court of Justice. Id. at A-3; A-10. In addition, the Department of State has undertaken intensive outreach in order to inform federal, state and local law enforcement officials of their obligаtions under the treaty, which has resulted in improved compliance. Id. at A-6.[2]
*1014 The accepted tools of treaty interpretation include the text of the treaty, its negotiation history, its Congressional legislative history, and the past practices of member states operating under the treaty. Id. at A-4; A-9.
The language in Article 36 requiring detention authorities to "inform the person concerned without delay of his rights" to consular notification and access was negotiated in order to facilitate consular functions, and not to bestow rights that can be raised by the individual as a basis for relief in criminal court. Id. at A-4; A-6. The obligation to inform the foreign national of his or her right to communicate with his or her consulate is not an end in itself, but rather a mechanism to deal with the possibility that the individual being detained might not know this, and was the result of a compromise by negotiators after mandatory notification was rejected. Id. at A-6.
There is no reason to believe that Congress, in ratifying the treaty, intended any significant changes in the criminal process; instead, there is reason to believe to the contrary, in that both Congress and the governors of the several states were advised by the State Department that ratification of the Vienna Convention would require no significant changes in the practices of the several states. Id. at A-9. Moreover, subsequent treaties have been consistent with this expectation, namely the treaties between the United States and Mexico and the United States and Canada on the execution of penal sentences. These treaties provide for American citizens who have been convicted of crimes in those two countries to serve their sentences in the United States, which sentences must be served whether or not the citizens were notified of their rights under Article 36 in the host country. Id. at A-5; A-6.
Finally, no member state of the Vienna Convention or any bilateral consulate convention has ever provided remedies for violations of Article 36 through its domestic criminal justice system, and courts in Italy and Australia have specifically rejected requests from foreign nationals for that kind of relief. Id. at A-8; A-9. Neither has the Department of State ever requested such relief for United States citizens being detained abroad, nor any other kind of judicial relief, for that matter. Instead, the Department instructs its consular officials stationed abroad to continually seek improved host-country compliance and to work directly with host government officials to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities under the Vienna Convention when citizens of the United States are detained in their countries. Id. at A-5.
"While courts interpret treaties for themselves, the meaning given them by the departments of government particularly charged with their negotiation and enforcement is given great weight." Kolovrat v. Oregon,
The majorities of both the Li and Lombera-Camorlinga courts found the Departments views persuasive. See Li,
Neither of these rulings was unanimous, and so we have had the benefit of the views of the dissenting judges in each of the cases. In sum, the dissenting judges at each circuit were of the view that the Vienna Convention does bestow individual rights, and would have required a prejudice analysis, with the initial burden on the defendant to show prejudice, after which the government would be required to rebut the showing, failing which suppression would be an appropriate remedy. See Li,
As was the Martinez-Lazo court,
We are not persuaded by the opinions of the dissenting judges at the First and Ninth Circuits that a prejudice analysis would provide a workable solutionindeed, we agree with the Li majority that in matters of state, the national interest has to be expressed through a single authoritative voice, namely the State Department, which speaks for and on behalf of the President in such matters.
In sum, assuming without holding that appellants have standing to enforce violations of the Convention, we follow Martinez-Lazo, Li and Lombera-Camorlinga and conclude as a matter of law that suppression of statements given voluntarily after a valid waiver of Miranda rights is not a remedy for violation of Article 36 of the Convention, or of the bilateral agreement between the Philippines and the United States.
In so ruling, we note that the only case provided by аppellants in which violation of Article 36 has resulted in suppression of evidence is Trujillo v. State,
We next turn to appellants' individual claims.
STATE v. ACOSTA
Jose W. Acosta appeals his convictions of first degree burglary and second degree rape. He claims that the trial court erred when it failed to suppress his statements to the police whеre they failed to inform him of his right to contact the Honduran Consulate. We conclude that Acosta cannot now raise the suppression issue because he failed to preserve his objection below and because the Supremacy Clause does not convert violations of treaty rights into violations of constitutional rights. Thus, Acosta cannot show manifest constitutional error, and his claim is barred from appellate review.
FACTS
On September 16, 1998, Bellevue Police Detective Carlos Preciado arrested Acosta on suspicion of burglary and sexual assault.
Acosta is a Honduran national. His primary language is Spanish. When Detective Preciado arrested Acosta, he read him his Miranda,[4] rights two times in Spanish. Most of Detective Preciado's contact with Acosta ocсurred in Spanish. After he was transported to the Bellevue Police Department, Acosta was again read the Miranda rights. Detective Preciado obtained Acosta's consent to take a taped statement, which took approximately 25 minutes. Acosta was not informed that he had a right to contact his consulate.
At Acosta's CrR 3.5 hearing, the prosecutor informed the court that it did not intend to offer Acosta's statement in its case in chief, but sought a ruling on the voluntariness of the statement in the event the prosecutor wanted to use it for impeachment purposes. Acosta objected to the admissibility of the statement, arguing that his right to contact his consulate had been violated. Regarding the consulate issue, Acosta referenced Immigration and Naturalization Servicеs (INS) regulations and also alluded to cases from federal jurisdictions, but did not provide the court with specific legal authority. Acosta informed the court that he would attempt to get that authority over the lunch hour. The court ruled that the statement was made voluntarily, but reserved judgment on the consulate issue: "I am not knowledgeable about this federal law, and it may override state and Miranda law, and I will await any further briefing from Defense Counsel as to whether it means that any statement given to the detective would not be useable." Report of Proceedings (4/28/99) at 64-65. Acosta *1017 never provided the court with legal authority and never obtained a final ruling on the issue. The court entered a finding of fact that Acosta had not been advised that he could contact his consulate but reached nо legal conclusion with respect to the finding.
The State did not introduce Acosta's statement during its case in chief but utilized it in rebuttal to impeach Acosta's testimony. The jury found Acosta guilty of first degree burglary and second degree rape. This appeal followed.
DISCUSSION
The State argues that Acosta is barred from raising his assignment of error because he failed to preserve his objection below. The State asserts that Acosta abandoned his suppression argument by failing to obtain a final ruling on the right to consul issue. We agree.
In State v. Riker,
During his CrR 3.5 hearing, Acosta raised the consulаte issue but did not provide the court with legal authority for his assertion. The court stated that it would await further briefing on the issue before making a ruling. Acosta, however, did not revisit the issue until he filed this appeal. Because Acosta failed to present adequate legal grounds for the court to make an informed decision on the issue, and failed to obtain a final ruling, his claim is not reviewable on appeal, absent manifest constitutional error.
Under RAP 2.5(a)(3), Acosta may allege an error not properly preserved below if it is a manifest error affecting a constitutional right. State v. Scott,
[E]ven if the Vienna Convention on Consular relations could be said to create individual rights (as opposed to setting out the rights and obligations of signatory nations), it certainly does not create constitutional rights.... [T]he Supremacy Clause does not convert violations of treaty provisions... into violations of constitutional rights.
Acosta does not challenge the trial court's finding that his statement was voluntarily given; that finding is, therefore, a verity on appeal. Because the alleged error does not affect a constitutional right, the manifest constitutional error exception does not apply and we decline to review Acosta's claim.
Acosta's conviction is affirmed.
STATE v. JAMISON
Edgar Jamison appeals his conviction on three counts of Rape of a Child in the First Degree. Jamison assigns error to the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty pleа. He claims that the motion should have been granted because he received ineffective assistance of counsel and because he entered a plea of guilty involuntarily. *1018 As Jamison fails to provide a basis to disturb the guilty plea, the trial court properly denied the motion.
FACTS
Pursuant to a complaint lodged by his stepdaughter, police arrested Jamison on suspicion of child sexual abuse. Jamison is a Philippine national who has been in the United States since 1979.
On March 28, 1996, Seattle Police conducted a warranted search of Jamison's home and seized a videotape of Jamison having sex with his stepdaughter. On March 29, 1996, Seattle Police Detective Tim Wear interviewed Jamison. The prosecution certified that Jamison validly waived his Miranda rights and provided Detective Wear with a taped confession. Jamison was not advised of his right to contact his consulate.
On February 10, 1997, Jamison pleaded guilty to three counts of Rape of a Child in the First Degree. Jamison filed a Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea on March 11, 1998, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to move to suppress his statements based on violation of Jamison's treaty rights, and also failed to adequately advise him of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea. During the hearing on Jamison's motion, his former counsel testified that he repeatedly discussed deportation with Jamison, and that shortly before Jamison's entry of the plea of guilty, he told Jamison that he was going to be deported and that to counsel's knowledge there was no way to get around deportatiоn. Jamison's Statement of Defendant on Plea of Guilty contained the following language: "If I am not a citizen of the United States, a plea of guilty to an offense punishable as a crime under state law is grounds for deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States." Clerk's Papers at 9 (Statement on Plea of Guilty). Counsel did not provide Jamison with a copy of the federal statute governing deportation and did not tell him that following deportation he would not be able to return to the United States.
Counsel also testified that he was aware of a potential legal issue arising from the fact that Jamison had not been advised of his rights under the Vienna Convention, but was also aware that the issue had not been decided favorably to defendants in challenging confessions. Defense counsel had hoped to obtain a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) for Jamison. When that possibility failed, he negotiated a low-end standard range with the prosecutor, who was threatening to recommend a high-end sentence or an exceptional sentence if Jamison were found guilty following a trial.
Jamison testified that he was forced to plead guilty "because if we took the case to trial then I'd have to pay [former counsel] $25,000, and ... the sentence that I would be given would be in the higher range." Report of Proceedings (3/25/99) at 51.
Following the hearing on Jamison's Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea, the court denied the motion, finding that Jamison had been advised categorically before he entered his plea that he wоuld be deported, and noting that Jamison's counsel for the motion had cited no legal authority for the proposition that Jamison's confession should have been suppressed based on failure of the police to advise him of his rights under the Vienna Convention. The court also noted that Jamison's former counsel had recognized the potential issue but was aware that the issue had not been decided favorably to defendants. Thus, Jamison's former counsel provided effective assistance and there was no manifest injustice.
This appeal followed.
DISCUSSION
Jamison assigns error to the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Jamison contends that under CrR 4.2, his motion to withdraw should have been granted because he was given ineffective assistance of counsel and his plea was not made voluntarily.
We review the trial court's denial of a motion to withdraw a plea for an abuse of discretion. State v. Olmsted,
To warrant plea withdrawal under CrR 4.2(f), Jamison must show that it is necessary to correct a manifest injustice. A manifest error may arise where a defendant receives ineffective assistance of counsel or where the plea was involuntary. State v. Taylor,
A strong presumption of competent representation attaches to the review of an ineffective assistance claim. In re Personal Restraint of Pirtle,
Jamison first contends that he was denied effective assistance because his attorney failed to move to suppress his confession to the police on the grounds that he was not informed of his Vienna Convention right to contact his consul. The court found that Jamison's attorney's performance was "well within the broad range of reasonable professional assistance." Clerk's Papers at 101. Assuming arguendo that a reаsonably competent attorney would have made the suppression motion, Jamison must show that the trial court would have granted the motion. Martinez-Lazo,
Accordingly, Jamison has failed to demonstrate a reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceeding would have been different if counsel had moved to suppress Jamison's confession based on the violation, and the trial properly denied Jamison's motion on this ground.
Jamison next contends that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because he was not informed that a guilty plea would result in mandatory removal proceedings and would bar his reentry into the United States following deportation. However, the trial court found, based on substantial evidence in the form of testimony from Jamison's former counsel that the court found to be credible, that Jamison was advised categorically by counsel that he would be deported. Moreover, as the trial court found, Jamison was properly advised as required by RCW 10.40.200 that his plea of guilty constituted grounds for deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization.[5]
In addition, while due process requires that a guilty plea be made with knowledge of its direct consequences, In re Personal Restraint of Peters,
But Jamison claims that the 1996 amendments to the Immigration and Naturalization Act by way of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Pub.L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996) (AEDPA) converted his deportation from a collateral consequence to a direct consequence of conviction because the AEDPA eliminates potential deportation relief for aggravated felonies, including sexual abuse of minor children, by removing the authority of the United States Attorney General to grant discretionary waivers in such cases. See 8 U.S.C.A. § 1228(a)(3)(A); § 1228(b)(5). Thus, Jamison reasons, deportation is now mandatory and as such represents a definite, immediate and largely automatic effect on the range of his punishment. See Cuthrell v. Director, Patuxent Inst.,
Assuming that the federal law changed, and that a person in Mr. Jamison's situation faces mandatory removal rather than potential deportation ... and that a person who has been removed can never return to the United States, such consequences remain "collateral," that is, the removal and exclusion consequences are the subject of a federal civil procedure.
Clerk's Papers at 100. Some months after the trial court ruled, Division Three of this court rejected the same argument. See Martinez-Lazo,
Jamison's attorney categorically advised Jamison that he would be deported following his guilty plea. We agree with the trial court that the fact that defense counsel failed to provide Jamison with a copy of the relevant federal statute and failed to inform him that, once deported, he could never reenter the United States is immaterial because deportation and exclusion from reentry are collateral consequences of Jamison's guilty plea, not part of his punishment. That a defendant may subjectively feel that deportation and permanent exclusion is harsh punishment indeed does not alter the analysis. Jamison has not shown that his counsel's performance was deficient. "If either part [of Strickland] is not satisfied, the inquiry need go no further." State v. Hendrickson,
Jamison next contends that his decision to plead guilty was not voluntary because he did not know that federal law made deportation a certainty following his conviction. Under CrR 4.2(d), a guilty plea is not valid unless it is entered into knowingly and voluntarily. As discussed above, there is ample evidence in the record to support the trial court's finding that Jamison's counsel informed him categorically that he would be deported. Moreover, before executing the plea agreement, *1021 Jamison was properly warned under RCW 10.40.200:
P.A.: Do you understand that if you are not a citizen of the United States that this guilty plea will affect your ability to be in the United States?
Jamison: Okay.
Clerk's Papers at 88. (Transcript of Guilty Plea). Jamison signed a Statement on Plea of Guilty that states "[i]f I аm not a citizen of the United States, a plea of guilty to an offense punishable as a crime under state law is grounds for deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States." Clerk's Papers at 9 (emphasis added).
Jamison's final contention is that the language "grounds for deportation" in the Statement of Plea of Guilty did not adequately inform him that he would be subject to removal in light of the AEDPA and thus that his plea was involuntary. The language in Jamison's Statement of Plea of Guilty was based on RCW 10.40.200(2), which states:
Prior to acceptance of a plea of guilty to any offense punishable as a crime under state law, except offenses designated as infractions under state law, the court shall determine that the defendant has been advised of the following potential consequences of conviction for a defendant who is not a citizen of the United States: Deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States.... Absent written acknowledgement by the defendant of the advisement required by this subsection, the defendant shall be presumed not to have received the required advisement.
(Emphasis added).
The AEDPA now refers largely to "removal proceedings" rather than to "deportation, exclusion from the United States, or denial of naturalization." Although the Legislature may wish to amend RCW 10.40.200 to incorporate this change in terminology or to specify that for certain felonies defined as aggravated felonies under federal law will result in more than just a "potential" consequencе of such a conviction, and although prosecutors may wish to similarly amend Statement of Defendant on Plea of Guilty forms in light of the AEDPA, we do not find a substantive difference between the use of "removal" and "deportation" in the language of the AEDPA.[6] Indeed, we think the term "deportation" is more descriptive and likely to be better understood than the term "removal proceedings." Moreover, any deficiencies there may be in RCW 10.40.200 or the plea of guilty form, or both, as compared to the harsh requirements of federal law in the case of aggravated felonies, do not create a constitutional right. See Holley,
Neither do we agree with Jamison that any such deficiencies equate to misinformation with respect to immigration consequences of a plea of guilty. Jamison relies on Walters v. Reno,
In sum, we conclude that the assistance provided by Jamison's counsel was not constitutionally inadequate and that Jamison entered his plea of guilty knowingly and voluntarily.
Accordingly, Jamison's conviction is affirmed.
APPELWICK, J., and GROSSE, J., concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] In addition to the Vienna Convention, the United States and the Philippines are parties to a bilateral convention under which notification of detention of nationals of either country is mandatory and must be made immediately to consular officers, whether or not the foreign national requests that such nоtification be made, and even if the foreign national objects to such notification. See Consular Convention, 11 Bevans 74, Article VII, paragraph 2 (signed 1947, became effective 1948).
[2] As part of its outreach efforts, the Department has issued a booklet entitled Consular Notification and Access, and subtitled Instructions for Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement and Other Officials Regarding Foreign Nationals in the United States and the Rights of Consular Officials to Assist Them. The full text of this booklet is available at http:// www.state.gov. We commend the booklet to all prosecuting attorneys and police agencies in this state.
[3] Opinion withdrawn and superceded on second reconsideration in light of Rocha v. State,
[4] Miranda v. Arizona,
[5] RCW 10.40.200(2) provides that courts shall determine that a defendant has been advised of "the following potential consequences of conviction for a defendant who is not a citizen of the United States: Deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States." The statute provides further that a guilty plea signed by the defendant with such advice creates a presumption that the defendant was so advised. But if a defendant is subject to deportation and has not been so advised, the statute requires the court to "vacate the judgment and permit the defendant to withdraw the plea of guilty and enter a plea of not guilty." Id.
[6] In fact, while 8 U.S.C.A. § 1228(a)(3)(A) states that "the Attorney General shall provide for the initiation and, to the extent possible, the completion of removal proceedings," the statute continues to refer to deportation as well. See, e.g., § 1228(c), which states that "[a]n alien convicted of an aggravated felony shall be conclusively presumed to be deportable from the United States."
