State v. WatsonState v. Watson
- Reporters:
- ,
- Before:
- Smith (en banc)
SMITH, J.
Petitioner Justin William Watson, a juvenile, seeks review of a decision of the Court of Appeals, Division One, which reversed two orders of the King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division, granting consecutive deferred dispositions on a charge of taking a motor vehicle without permission of the owner in the first case and a charge of fourth-degree assault in the second case.1 We affirm.
QUESTION PRESENTED
The sole question in this case is whether under
STATEMENT OF FACTS
On December 21, 1999 Petitioner, a juvenile born February 19, 1982, was charged by information in the King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division, with assault in the fourth degree in violation of
Before commencement of trial Petitioner filed a motion for deferred disposition in both cases4 pursuant to former
During the hearing, defense counsel argued that the trial court should consider only one disposition because Petitioner would be subject to separate dispositions on both charged offenses if he violated any of the conditions of the deferred disposition.7 The State opposed consecutive deferred dispositions in the two cases. It was agreed that Petitioner had not previously received a deferred disposition or deferred adjudication.8
Over the State‘s objections, the trial court, the Honorable Dean S. Lum, deferred disposition in each of the two cases, ruling that Petitioner was eligible for deferred dispositions because, as of the hearing date, he did not have a prior deferred disposition.9 The court stated:
I think the statute would allow for a respondent to be eligible for a deferred disposition so long as he does not have a prior deferred disposition. And it‘s pretty clear that he does not have a prior disposition at this time. So really the inquiry is not whether the Respondent is eligible but whether the Court is going to exercise discretion in giving it to him. I can imagine a scenario in which I wouldn‘t do it, for instance, if he had four pending matters. I
The court then issued two separate deferred disposition orders, bearing separate cause numbers, with different conditions as to each charge, the sentences to run consecutively.11 In each case the court entered a finding adjudging Petitioner “guilty” of the charged offense based upon the stipulated facts. The first order, involving the taking of a motor vehicle offense, was continued for six months until September 3, 2000 and required Petitioner to comply with certain specified conditions, including community supervision for six months, 24 hours of community service, no unwanted contact with Howard Dowell, counseling, regular school attendance, a curfew, an approved residence, no alcohol or drugs, and no weapons. The second order, involving the assault offense, “to be served consecutive to XX-X-XXXXX-X” was continued from September 3, 2000 to March 3, 2001 and included behavior requirements similar to those in the first order (except community service and no contact) and community supervision for six months.
The State appealed to the Court of Appeals, Division One, arguing that the trial court violated the prohibition under former
The Court of Appeals, in a majority opinion, the Honorable William W. Baker writing, agreed with the State and reversed the trial court, holding that former
DISCUSSION
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT
Under the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977,
Under this sentencing alternative, before the trial judge enters a finding or accepts a plea of “guilty,” an offender must “[s]tipulate to the admissibility of the facts contained in the written police report; [a]cknowledge that the report will be entered and used to support a finding of guilt and to impose a disposition if the juvenile fails to comply with terms of supervision; and [w]aive” the juvenile‘s right to speedy disposition and to call and confront witnesses.14 “Following the stipulation, acknowledgment, waiver, and entry of a finding or plea of guilt,” the court may then defer entry of an order of disposition of the juvenile for up to one year from the date the offender is found “guilty,” during which time the juvenile must comply with all court-ordered conditions of supervision.15
After the period set forth in the order of deferral has expired and the trial court finds
Not all juvenile offenders are eligible for a deferred disposition. Former
(1) A juvenile is eligible for deferred disposition unless [the juvenile]:
(a) Is charged with a sex or violent offense;
(b) Has a criminal history which includes any felony;
(c) Has a prior deferred disposition or deferred adjudication; or
(d) Has two or more diversions.18
(Emphasis added).
Petitioner argues that the Court of Appeals misinterpreted the provisions of
Statutory Interpretation
Statutory interpretation is a question of law that we review de novo.19 In interpreting statutory provisions, the primary objective is to ascertain and give effect to the intent and purpose of the Legislature in creating the statute.20 To determine legislative intent, we look first to the language of the statute. If a statute is clear on its face, its meaning is to be derived from the plain language of the statute alone.21 Legislative definitions included in the statute are controlling,22 but in the absence of a statutory definition this court will give the term its plain and ordinary meaning ascertained from a standard dictionary.23 A statute is unclear if it can be reasonably interpreted in more than one way. However, it is not ambiguous simply because different interpretations are conceivable.24 We are not “obliged to discern any ambiguity by imagining a variety of alternative interpretations.”25
We have consistently held that an unambiguous statute is not subject to judicial construction26 and have declined to insert words into a statute where the language, taken as a whole, is clear and unambiguous. We will not add to or subtract from the clear language of a statute even if we believe the Legislature intended something else but did not adequately express it27 unless the addition or subtraction of language is imperatively
If a statute is ambiguous, this court will resort to principles of statutory construction, legislative history, and relevant case law to assist in interpreting it.30 We must construe an ambiguous statute to effectuate the intent of the Legislature.31 In construing an ambiguous statute, courts may not read into it matters that are not in it32 and may not create legislation under the guise of interpreting a statute.33
On its face, former
The Court of Appeals correctly interpreted former
Petitioner argues that a juvenile offender should be eligible for consecutive deferred dispositions in order to avoid prosecutorial abuse. He contends that if a juvenile is entitled to deferred disposition in only one of several cases, a prosecutor could simply file each charged offense under a separate cause number and thus thwart the juvenile‘s ability to take advantage of the deferred disposition sentencing alternative. He claims this is an absurd result which directly contravenes the rehabilitative goals of the Juvenile Justice Act.
The State responds that this argument ignores the requirement of mandatory joinder under
In this case, Petitioner was charged with two separate offenses which were not subject to mandatory joinder. Nor were they appropriate for permissive joinder under
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The sole question in this case is whether under
Under
The Court of Appeals correctly interpreted former
We affirm the Court of Appeals, Division One, which reversed two orders of the King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division, granting consecutive deferred dispositions on a charge of taking a motor vehicle without permission of the owner in one case and on a charge of fourth-degree assault in the other case.
ALEXANDER, C.J., IRELAND, BRIDGE, OWENS, JJ., concur.
CHAMBERS, J. (dissenting) I respectfully dissent.
The majority holding ignores the rehabilitative goal of the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977(JJA),
Under the JJA,1 a court may grant a deferred disposition if the defendant has no prior dispositions or deferred adjudications.
Clearly, Justin Watson, a child with no prior criminal record, was an apt candidate for the deferred disposition program.2 In
The plain meaning of “prior” is “earlier in time or order,” but this definition offers but sparse legal insight here, where two charges were presented to the trial judge simultaneously. Webster‘s Third New International Dictionary 1804 (3d ed.1993). Although the majority is correct in noting that a child may receive only one deferred disposition, its application of the statute is flawed. Indeed, the majority relies on the plain meaning of “prior” in order to prevent juveniles from circumventing the limitation of the JJA, but in doing so, it defeats the long standing goal of the JJA: rehabilitation of the juvenile.3 Juvenile restitution is a remedial matter, not punitive, unlike the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981(SRA),
The majority‘s interpretation of the word “prior” wrongly disregards other instances of use by the Legislature, and it fails to comport with the purpose of the JJA. A statute is ambiguous if it can be reasonably interpreted in two or more ways. State v. McGee, 122 Wash.2d 783, 787, 864 P.2d 912 (1993). On appeal, Watson correctly argued that the phrase “prior deferred disposition” means a disposition prior to the hearing on the current charges. However, the majority interprets the same phrase to mean that each charge before the sentencing court is viewed separately. Therefore, a deferred disposition is created as soon as the court signs the order of deferral.
Given the rehabilitative intent of the JJA, Watson‘s interpretation is clearly reasonable. His interpretation limits deferred dispositions to those who have no prior record, but it still allows a child who was involved in two incidents, within a relatively close time of each other, to earn a clean record. In this case, Watson has not yet had the chance to earn the dismissal afforded by the JJA, but the majority prevents the trial court from even considering the grant. If each of the two interpretations is reasonable, then the statute is ambiguous, and the court should look to the Legislature‘s past uses of the language in other, similar contexts. State v. Akin, 77 Wash.App. 575, 580-81, 892 P.2d 774 (1995) (citing DeGrief v. City of Seattle, 50 Wash.2d 1, 11, 297 P.2d 940 (1956)).4
Although the statute prevents a court from granting a deferred disposition where the juvenile “[h]as a criminal history which includes any felony,” Watson had no criminal history prior to the charges at bar.
I therefore dissent, and would reverse the Court of Appeals, reinstating the single order of deferred disposition.
JOHNSON, MADSEN, SANDERS, JJ., concur.
Notes
I think the statute would allow for a respondent to be eligible for a deferred disposition so long as he does not have a prior deferred disposition. And it‘s pretty clear that he does not have a prior disposition at this time. So really the inquiry is not whether the Respondent is eligible but whether the Court is going to exercise discretion in giving it to him.
I can imagine a scenario in which I wouldn‘t do it, for instance, if he had four pending matters. I probably wouldn‘t give it to him if he had three pending matters.
Report of Proceedings 5-6.