State v. H.J.
State v. H.J.
Opinion of the Court
H.J. was adjudicated guilty of first degree trespass with sexual motivation. The trial court imposed a disposition with a significant treatment requirement, believing it was within the standard range. The State realized it was not, and sought redisposition. The trial court then imposed the same disposition pursuant to a manifest injustice determination. This procedure did not violate double jeopardy, and we affirm.
When Agnes Cieslik returned to her apartment in Bellevue, she heard a noise coming from her bedroom. She saw a pair of feet protruding from under the bed, and ordered the person to come out. A young man emerged with his shirt pulled up over his head. When he removed the shirt, Cieslik recognized him as H.J., who lived in the apartment above hers. H.J. fled the apartment through a living room window. Police discovered that personal items had been removed from Cieslik’s dresser and placed on her bed, and a tube of lubricant had been removed from her medicine cabinet and placed on her bathroom sink.
H.J. was found guilty of first degree trespass with sexual motivation. The standard range for the offense was local sanctions, including 0 to 30 days detention, 0 to 12 months community supervision, 0 to 150 hours community service, and a fine of up to $500.
The court and the parties apparently thought H.J.’s crime was classified as a sex crime, such that the standard range included a term of community supervision of up to 24 months. The court declined to adopt the manifest injustice recommendation, believing that H.J. would receive a low priority on the waiting list for sex offender treatment at JRA, with no opportunity to supervise him afterward, whereas 24 months of supervision would meet both H.J.’s need for rehabilitation and the community’s need for protection. The court therefore imposed 24 months of community supervision and sex offender treatment.
Less than a month later, the State moved to correct the disposition on the ground that first degree trespass with
H.J. does not contend the manifest injustice disposition is unsupported by the evidence. Rather, he argues it violated the double jeopardy clause.
DISCUSSION
The double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment protects against (1) a second prosecution for the same offense after an acquittal, (2) a second prosecution for the same offense after a conviction, and (3) multiple punishments for the same offense.
Generally, double jeopardy protections do not apply to sentencing proceedings because entry of a sentence does not create the constitutional finality that attends acquittal.
The double jeopardy clause does bar resentencing where the original sentencing proceeding was more like a trial than an ordinary sentencing proceeding.
Similarly, in State v. Hennings,
The SRA requires the party offering the evidence to bear the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, rather than by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, a sentencing judge’s discretion under the SRA is not restricted in the same manner or to the same extent as the factfinder’s discretion in Bullington .[14 ]
Here the State asked for a manifest injustice disposition above the standard range. H.J. contends this is similar to Bullington and Hennings in that the court can enter such a disposition only if the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt that a disposition within the standard range would pose a clear danger to society.
Further, in Bullington and Hennings, the court and jury had engaged in extensive fact finding.
But I simply don’t believe at this point that we have a viable treatment alternative at JRA and that there is a sufficient basis to find a manifest injustice. Well, there might be a sufficient basis to find a manifest injustice, but I don’t think that the product of that is the preferable way to go. As difficult as it’s going to be, I would rather see two months of — two years of supervision and attempting to get him into an appropriate treatment program.[18 ]
In short, H.J.’s disposition hearing did not exhibit the hallmarks of a trial on guilt or innocence.
The double jeopardy clause has a limited role in an ordinary proceeding to correct an erroneous sentence. “[T]he analytical touchstone ... is the defendant’s legitimate expectation of finality in the sentence. . . .”
Factors that influence a defendant’s legitimate expectation of finality include completion of the sentence, the passage of time, the pendency of an appeal or review of the sentencing determination, or the defendant’s misconduct in
H.J. also argues he had a legitimate expectation of finality because double jeopardy is violated when a court corrects a defective sentence beyond the extent necessary to bring the sentence into compliance with the sentencing statute. He relies upon United States v. Fogel
H. J.’s disposition hearing did not have the hallmarks of a trial, his sentence was not statutorily authorized, and he had no legitimate expectation of finality in the erroneous sentence. H.J.’s amended disposition was not barred by double jeopardy.
Affirmed.
Becker, C.J., and Baker, J., concur.
RCW 13.40.0357.
State v. Gocken, 127 Wn.2d 95, 100, 896 P.2d 1267 (1995) (citing North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 726, 89 S. Ct. 2072, 23 L. Ed. 2d 656 (1969), overruled on other grounds by Alabama v. Smith, 490 U.S. 794, 109 S. Ct. 2201, 104 L. Ed. 2d 865 (1989)).
Gocken, 127 Wn.2d at 107.
Monge v. California, 524 U.S. 721, 728, 118 S. Ct. 2246, 141 L. Ed. 2d 615 (1998); United States v. DiFrancesco, 449 U.S. 117, 134, 101 S. Ct. 426, 66 L. Ed. 2d 328 (1980); State v. Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d 303, 310, 915 P.2d 1080 (1996).
Monge, 524 U.S. at 730; DiFrancesco, 449 U.S. at 135.
Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d at 310-11; Bullington v. Missouri, 451 U.S. 430, 438, 446, 101 S. Ct. 1852, 68 L. Ed. 2d 270 (1981).
Bullington v. Missouri, 451 U.S. 430, 439, 101 S. Ct. 1852, 68 L. Ed. 2d 270 (1981).
Bullington, 451 U.S. at 438.
100 Wn.2d 379, 670 P.2d 256 (1983).
Hennings, 100 Wn.2d at 387.
Hennings, 100 Wn.2d at 387.
State v. Strauss, 119 Wn.2d 401, 410-12, 832 P.2d 78 (1992).
54 Wn. App. 408, 421-23, 773 P.2d 898 (1989).
Strauss, 119 Wn.2d at 410 (citation omitted).
See State v. J.S., 70 Wn. App. 659, 664, 855 P.2d 280 (1993); State v. Gutierrez, 37 Wn. App. 910, 914, 684 P.2d 87 (1984).
Strauss, 119 Wn.2d at 410.
See Bullington, 451 U.S. at 433-35; Hennings, 100 Wn.2d at 386.
Report of Proceedings (June 29, 2001) at 92-93 (emphasis added).
Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d at 311; DiFrancesco, 449 U.S. at 136-39.
It is not entirely clear that the court “increased” H.J.’s sentence by imposing a manifest injustice disposition. H.J. contends that a manifest injustice disposition may be a reason to increase punishment for a new juvenile offense, and points out that it is a factor to consider in declination proceedings.
Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d at 311; State v. Traicoff, 93 Wn. App. 248, 256, 967 P.2d 1277 (1998).
See Hardesty, 129 Wn.2d at 311; Traicoff, 93 Wn. App. at 256.
See Traicoff, 93 Wn. App. at 256.
829 F.2d 77 (D.C. Cir. 1987).
114 Nev. 385, 956 P.2d 1377 (1998).
See Fogel, 829 F.2d at 82.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.