State v. Scott
State v. Scott
Opinion of the Court
*1183*588¶ 1 This case addresses the adequacy of the parole remedy available under ROW 9.94A.730, the Miller
FACTS
¶ 2 Jai'Mar Scott was convicted by a jury in 1990 of first degree premeditated murder for killing his neighbor, a 78-year-old-woman who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. See State v. Scott,
¶ 3 At sentencing, the parties agreed that the standard range was 240 to 320 months, with 240 months being the *589mandatory minimum sentence that could be imposed. The State requested an exceptional sentence above the standard range. The defense requested the low end of the standard range. The trial court sentenced Scott to an exceptional sentence of 900 months based on four independent findings: (1) that Scott's conduct constituted deliberate cruelty, (2) that his conduct was an abuse of trust, (3) that the crime involved multiple injuries, and (4) that the victim was particularly vulnerable.
¶ 4 On direct appeal, the Court of Appeals held that the 900-month sentence imposed was not clearly excessive because the "aggravating factors are both numerous and individually and collectively egregious." Id. at 222,
¶ 5 As Scott served his sentence, the law of juvenile sentencing changed dramatically, and in 2012 the Supreme Court decided Miller, 567 U.S. at 465,
¶ 6 In May 2016, Scott filed a motion for relief from judgment requesting a new sentencing hearing. The State asked the superior court to transfer the untimely motion to *1184the Court of Appeals for consideration as a personal restraint petition (PRP) pursuant to CrR 7.8. The court denied the State's motion and granted Scott's motion for relief from judgment. The State appealed.
¶ 7 The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of a new sentencing hearing, finding, "The constitutional violation identified in the Miller line of cases is the failure to allow a juvenile offender the opportunity for release when his or her crime was the result of youthful traits." State v. Scott,
*591ANALYSIS
Standard of Review
¶ 8 Constitutional interpretation is a question of law reviewed de novo. State v. MacDonald,
¶ 9 A collateral attack on a sentence generally must be brought within one year after the judgment and sentence become final. RCW 10.73.090(1), (2). A collateral attack
¶ 10 This court has previously explained:
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.
*592In re Pers. Restraint of Greening,
*1185¶ 11 The Supreme Court has recently declared in Montgomery that Miller applies retroactively. Nevertheless, as discussed infra, Montgomery also identifies an adequate remedy for a Miller violation in the form of providing a parole opportunity for juvenile defendants.
¶ 12 Scott and amici
¶ 13 In Miller, the Supreme Court observed, "The Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment 'guarantees individuals the right not to be subjected to excessive sanctions.' " 567 U.S. at 469,
¶ 14 In Miller, the Court was considering "the constitutionality of mandatory sentencing schemes-which by definition remove a [sentencing] judge's ... discretion."
¶ 15 While Miller held that "the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders," the Court reiterated that " '[a] State is not required to guarantee eventual freedom,' but must provide 'some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation. ' " Id. at 479,
*594¶ 16 The Court's discussion in Miller, which rejected the State's argument that sufficient discretion is exercised in the course of the juvenile transfer decision, is instructive here. The Court explained as follows:
[T]he question at transfer hearings may differ dramatically from the issue at a post-trial sentencing. Because many juvenile systems require that the offender be released at a particular age or after a certain number of years, transfer decisions often present a choice between extremes:
*1186light punishment as a child or standard sentencing as an adult (here, life without parole). In many States, for example, a child convicted in juvenile court must be released from custody by the age of 21. Discretionary sentencing in adult court would provide different options: There, a judge or jury could choose, rather than a life-without-parole sentence, a lifetime prison term with the possibility of parole or a lengthy term of years. It is easy to imagine a judge deciding that a minor deserves a (much) harsher sentence than he would receive in juvenile court, while still not thinking life-without-parole appropriate. For that reason, the discretion available to a judge at the transfer stage cannot substitute for discretion at post-trial sentencing in adult court-and so cannot satisfy the Eighth Amendment.
Id. at 488-89,
¶ 17 Scott argues that this court's recent decision in State v. Houston-Sconiers,
*595RCW) ] range and/or sentence enhancements." Id. at 21,
¶ 18 Further, as noted, Montgomery held that Miller announced a new substantive rule of constitutional law that is "retroactive in cases on collateral review."
Miller required that sentencing courts consider a child's "diminished culpability and heightened capacity for change" before condemning him or her to die in prison. Although Miller did not foreclose a sentencer's ability to impose life without parole on a juvenile, the Court explained that a lifetime in prison is a disproportionate sentence for all but the rarest of children, those whose crimes reflect " 'irreparable corruption.' "
*596Id. at 726 (emphasis added) (citation omitted) (quoting Miller, 567 U.S. at 479-80,
Miller, it is true, did not bar a punishment for all juvenile offenders, ... Miller did bar life without parole, however, for all but the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility. ... Before Miller, every juvenile convicted of a homicide offense could be *1187sentenced to life without parole. After Miller, it will be the rare juvenile offender who can receive that same sentence. ... Miller drew a line between children whose crimes reflect transient immaturity and those rare children whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption.
Id. at 734. The Montgomery Court explained that procedurally, " Miller requires a sentencer to consider a juvenile offender's youth and attendant characteristics before determining that life without parole is a proportionate sentence." Id. (emphasis added). Such a hearing "where 'youth and its attendant characteristics' are considered as sentencing factors is necessary to separate those juveniles who may be sentenced to life without parole from those who may not." Id. at 735 (quoting Miller, 567 U.S. at 465,
¶ 19 The Montgomery Court observed, " Miller's conclusion that the sentence of life without parole is disproportionate for the vast majority of juvenile offenders raises a grave risk that many are being held in violation of the Constitution." Id. at 736. While acknowledging the potential scope of the Court's retroactive application of Miller, the Montgomery Court proceeded to explain the appropriate remedy, stating:
Giving Miller retroactive effect... does not require States to relitigate sentences, let alone convictions, in every case where a juvenile offender received mandatory life without parole. A State may remedy a Miller violation by permitting juvenile homicide offenders to be considered for parole, rather than by resentencing them. See, e.g.,Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-10-301 (c) (2013) (juvenile homicide offenders eligible for parole after 25 *597years). Allowing those offenders to be considered for parole ensures that juveniles whose crimes reflected only transient immaturity-and who have since matured-will not be forced to serve a disproportionate sentence in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Extending parole eligibility to juvenile offenders does not impose an onerous burden on the States, nor does it disturb the finality of state convictions. Those prisoners who have shown an inability to reform will continue to serve life sentences. The opportunity for release will be afforded to those who demonstrate the truth of Miller's central intuition-that children who commit even heinous crimes are capable of change.
¶ 20 Nevertheless, Scott argues that the Wyoming statute approved in Montgomery is distinguishable. But while the Wyoming and Washington Miller fix statutes are not identical, they do not differ in any substantive way relevant to the present inquiry. Both provide a parole avenue to juvenile offender inmates after a set period of time. Notably, the Washington statute, RCW 9.94A.730, provides more advantages to the inmate by providing a right to petition for early release after serving 20 years (5 years earlier than under the Wyoming statute) and provides the petitioner with a presumption of early release (Wyoming's Miller fix statute has no such presumption).See RCW 9.94A.730(1), (3) ; WYO. STAT. ANN. § 6-10-301.
¶ 21 Scott and amicus also complain that while RCW 9.94A.730 provides for parole eligibility, it does not provide for consideration of a defendant's diminished capacity due to attributes of youth. First, the Wyoming statute that Montgomery expressly approved also lacks the considerations that *598Scott complains are missing. See WYO. STAT. ANN. § 6-10-301. Second, Montgomery expressly approved the extension of "parole eligibility" to juvenile offenders as sufficient to address a Miller violation on collateral review, precisely as RCW 9.94A.730 provides.
¶ 22 We note that contemporaneously with Scott's present collateral attack he petitioned the Department of Corrections Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board (ISRB) for early release under RCW 9.94A.730.
¶ 23 Scott and amicus next contend that the passage in Montgomery approving parole eligibility as a Miller violation fix is merely dicta and not precedential. In State v. Williams-Bey, a Connecticut appellate court addressed and persuasively rejected the same argument as follows:
We first address the defendant's claim that the United States Supreme Court's statement that parole eligibility will remedy a Miller violation is dicta .... We are not persuaded.
Black's Law Dictionary (9th Ed. 2009) defines "obiter dictum" as "[a] judicial comment made while delivering a judicial opinion, but one that is unnecessary to the decision in the case and therefore not precedential ...." Dicta of the United States Supreme Court, however, is persuasive authority. See United States v. Dorcely,454 F.3d 366 , 375 (D.C. Cir.) ("carefully considered language of the [United States] Supreme Court, even if technically dictum, generally must be treated as authoritative" [internal quotation marks omitted] ), cert. denied,549 U.S. 1055 ,127 S.Ct. 691 ,166 L.Ed. 2d 518 (2006). This is especially so in this case, in which we consider a federal constitutional claim.
It is true that the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Montgomery to determine only whether the court had jurisdiction over the defendant's claim and whether Miller applied *600retroactively. Montgomery v. Louisiana,supra, 136 S.Ct. at 725, 727 . The court, though, had to have recognized that Miller 's retroactive application would potentially affect thousands of cases across several states and that the logical extension of its holding would require state legislatures *1189and courts to fashion a constitutionally adequate remedy for sentences that violated Miller. It thus is illogical to categorize Montgomery 's conclusion that Miller applies retroactively as the holding of the court, but its pronouncement of a constitutionally adequate remedy in light of Miller 's retroactive application as not being germane to that holding, and, thus, mere dicta. We do not believe that the United States Supreme Court would so glibly identify a constitutionally adequate remedy under the eighth amendment. Moreover, as noted, the court in Montgomery stated unequivocally that "[a] State may remedy a Miller violation by permitting juvenile homicide offenders to be considered for parole, rather than by resentencing them." Montgomery v. Louisiana,supra, 736 . The court could hardly have been clearer. We conclude that parole eligibility is an adequate remedy for sentences that violated Miller as applied retroactively.
¶ 24 Finally, Scott raises a new argument in his supplemental brief, asserting that the Court of Appeals decision conflicts with State v. Fain,
CONCLUSION
¶ 25 The Court of Appeals reversal of the trial court order granting a new sentencing hearing is affirmed because Scott has an adequate remedy as directed by the Supreme Court in Montgomery -he may seek early release under RCW 9.94A.730. Because he has an adequate remedy, collateral relief via a personal restraint petition is not available under RAP 16.4(d). Accordingly, we affirm the reversal of the trial court's order.
WE CONCUR:
Johnson, J.
Owens, J.
Stephens, J.
Wiggins, J.
Yu, J.
Miller v. Alabama,
This court recently also held that Miller applies to juvenile homicide offenders facing de facto life-without-parole sentences in State v. Ramos,
In 2014, the legislature enacted " 'Miller fix' " statutes "with the intention of bringing Washington's sentencing framework into conformity with Miller. " Ronquillo,
An untimely motion for relief from judgment filed in the trial court "shall" be transferred to the Court of Appeals for consideration as a PRP. CrR 7.8(c)(2).
One amicus brief was submitted on behalf of the following: The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Columbia Legal Services, Juvenile Law Center, National Juvenile Defender Center, TeamChild, Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Washington Defender Association.
The Court explained that Roper held that "the Eighth Amendment bars capital punishment for children," and Graham held that the Eighth Amendment also "prohibits a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a child who committed a nonhomicide offense." Miller,
Similarly, in Ramos,
We acknowledge that the Supreme Court has held that for cases on collateral review, life-without-parole sentences previously imposed without proper Miller hearings may be remedied "by permitting juvenile homicide offenders to be considered for parole, rather than by resentencing them." Montgomery,
We grant the State's motion to supplement the record to include the transcript and ISRB decision for Scott's parole hearing under RAP 9.10, which provides, in part:
If the record is not sufficiently complete to permit a decision on the merits of the issues presented for review, the appellate court may, on its own initiative or on the motion of a party (1) direct the transmittal of additional clerk's papers and exhibits or administrative records and exhibits certified by the administrative agency, or (2) correct, or direct the supplementation or correction of, the report of proceedings.
In the course of the hearing, Scott's youth at the time of the crime was discussed, including his lack of appropriate role model at home. Scott described his father as mostly absent and a "thug" who introduced Scott to drugs. ISRB Verbatim Report of Proceedings (Mar. 15, 2016) at 24-25. Scott stated that his extended family blames his mom because she could have raised Scott better. Id. at 26-27. Scott said at age 17, he had no maturity and "didn't know what [he] was doing." Id. at 27, 50. He knew only of gang and street mentality as a youth, and that slapping women and other assaults were "normal," but Scott told the ISRB that now he is someone who takes responsibility. Id. at 24, 51.
The ISRB decision ultimately turned on the evaluation and recommendation of a psychologist that Scott needed sex offender treatment "before any reduction on custody is considered." ISRB Decision & Reasons, No. 970703 (Apr. 26, 2016) at 6. The psychologist recommended that Scott complete sex offender treatment and participate in a cognitive-behaviorally based offender change program. Id. The ISRB determined that Scott was "not releasable," finding that he was more likely than not to commit a new crime if released on conditions. Id. at 1. The ISRB determined that Scott could repetition for release in 2019 "or upon successful completion of" a specified sex offender treatment program and a cognitive-behavioral change program. Id.
Concurring Opinion
¶ 26 I agree with the majority that the parole provision of RCW 9.94A.730 is an adequate remedy for a Miller
¶ 27 In his supplemental brief, Jai'Mar Eli Scott raised a new argument that Fain controls, and the Court of Appeals decision effectively overturned that case. First, the majority fails to acknowledge that "this court will generally not address arguments raised for the first time in a supplemental brief." Cummins v. Lewis County ,
State v. Duncan,
In re Pers. Restraint of McNeil,
188 Wash.2d at 19 & n.4,
Concurring Opinion
¶ 28 The majority holds that Jai'Mar Scott's de facto life sentence is unconstitutional under Miller v. Alabama,
¶ 29 The majority also holds that Scott's challenge to his unconstitutional sentence was timely, and that Miller 's Eighth Amendment protections constitute a significant change in the law that is retroactively applicable to Scott *603and material to his sentence. Id. at 1184, 1186-87; U.S. CONST. amend. VIII. I agree with that also.
¶ 30 The majority denies Scott relief for a different reason. A personal restraint petition may be granted only when there is no other adequate relief available. RAP 16.4. The majority concludes that under current Eighth Amendment precedent, RCW 9.94A.730 -which provides Scott with a chance for parole rather than a right to resentencing-provides an adequate remedy for the Miller violation. Id. at 1183. I agree with that conclusion also.
¶ 31 But we have "repeated[ly] recogni[zed]" that the Washington Constitution's article I, section 14 is more protective of individual rights at sentencing than the Eighth Amendment. State v. Roberts,
¶ 32 The majority is correct about that too. Despite the fact that amicus briefs filed in support of Scott's position did address that issue, the majority certainly has the discretion to decline to reach arguments raised solely by amici.
¶ 33 I therefore write to clarify that the adequacy of the statutory remedy available to Scott-the possibility of parole after 20 years rather than the certainty of a full resentencing now-remains an open question under Washington law. This is important because our court has held that any Miller "fix" must include an individualized hearing and " 'take into account how children are different [from *604adults].' "
¶ 34 I therefore respectfully concur.
ANALYSIS
RCW 9.94A.730, the legislature's Miller "fix" applicable to nonaggravated murder offenses, is not an "adequate" remedy under Washington law
¶ 35 The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution compels us to recognize that children are different. See, e.g., Miller,
These cases make two substantive rules of law clear: first, "that a sentencing rule permissible for adults may not be so for children," [ Roper, 543 U.S. at [571,125 S.Ct. 1183 ], rendering certain sentences that are routinely imposed on adults disproportionately too harsh when applied to youth, and second, that the Eighth Amendment requires another protection, besides numerical proportionality, in juvenile sentencing-the exercise of discretion.
Houston-Sconiers,
A. Under State v. Fain,
¶ 36 The first reason that our own constitution and case law compel a different result from that provided by the Eighth Amendment is our holding in Fain. RCW 9.94A.730 gives the offender the chance to ask the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB)-basically a parole board-for release-basically parole. But Fain holds that the possibility of parole cannot be considered akin to a real resentencing under our state constitution.
¶ 37 In Fain, the defendant argued that his mandatory life sentence was unconstitutionally disproportionate to his nonviolent crimes. The State responded by arguing that this court should treat a sentence of life with the possibility of parole as a lesser (and more proportionate) sentence than a sentence of life without parole because the former provides for "the availability of parole and 'good behavior' credits."
*606Id. at 394,
¶ 38 Following Fain, the majority's argument that RCW 9.94A.730 provides Scott with a "de facto lifetime prison term with the possibility of parole ," majority at 1186, is irrelevant under state law. RCW 9.94A.730 provides no more than a possibility of parole, an act of executive privilege, and it therefore " 'creates an unacceptable risk' that a substantive constitutional rule will be violated." Ramos,
B. Under In re Personal Restraint of McNeil,
¶ 39 Further, our prior decisions make clear that Miller "fixes" must include both substantive and procedural protections. Ramos and Houston-Sconiers emphasized these two protections-those decisions explain both the constitutional *607limits on sentence length
¶ 40 We explained the importance of incorporating both constitutional requirements into any Miller "fix" type of resentencing in McNeil . McNeil addressed one of the legislature's two Miller "fixes"- RCW 10.95.030(3). RCW 10.95.030(3) describes the initial sentencing procedure for certain juveniles convicted of aggravated murder. RCW 10.95.035(1) makes this Miller "fix" fully retroactive and applicable to resentencing. See McNeil,
¶ 41 In McNeil, two juveniles were tried as adults and convicted of aggravated first degree murder. Both were given the mandatory minimum of life in prison without the possibility of early release, and both challenged that sentence based on Miller .
¶ 42 But the McNeil - referenced Miller "fix," RCW 10.95.030(3) (sentences for aggravated first degree murder), differs significantly from RCW 9.94A.730, the "fix" statute at issue here. The RCW 10.95.030(3) Miller "fix" is far more *608protective of the defendant's constitutional rights. RCW 10.95.030(3) states in relevant part,
(a)(i) Any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder for an offense committed prior to the person's sixteenth birthday shall be sentenced to a maximum term of life imprisonment and a minimum term of total confinement of twenty-five years.
(ii) Any person convicted of the crime of aggravated first degree murder for an offense committed when the person is at least sixteen years old but less than eighteen years old shall be sentenced to a *1193maximum term of life imprisonment and a minimum term of total confinement of no less than twenty-five years. A minimum term of life may be imposed, in which case the person will be ineligible for parole or early release.
(b) In setting a minimum term, the court must take into account mitigating factors that account for the diminished culpability of youth as provided in Miller v. Alabama,567 U.S. 460 ,132 S.Ct. 2455 ,183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012) including, but not limited to, the age of the individual, the youth's childhood and life experience, the degree of responsibility the youth was capable of exercising, and the youth's chances of becoming rehabilitated.
(Emphasis added.) As the emphasized language shows, this RCW 10.95.030(3) Miller "fix," unlike the RCW 9.94A.730 Miller "fix" at issue here, specifically incorporates Miller 's requirements-both substantive and procedural-by providing a limit on the sentence length and by requiring that a sentencing "court"-not parole board-must "take into account mitigating factors that account for the diminished culpability of youth." RCW 10.05.030(3)(b).
¶ 43 Unlike McNeil, who was convicted of aggravated first degree murder, Scott was convicted of the less serious crime of first degree murder. See State v. Scott,
*609(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any person convicted of one or more crimes committed prior to the person's eighteenth birthday may petition the indeterminate sentence review board for early release after serving no less than twenty years total confinement, provided the person has not been convicted for any crime committed subsequent to the person's eighteenth birthday, the person has not committed a disqualifying serious infraction as defined by the department in the twelve months prior to filing the petition for early release, and the current sentence was not imposed under RCW 10.95.030 or 9.94A.507.
....
(3) No later than one hundred eighty days from receipt of the petition for early release, the department shall conduct, and the offender shall participate in, an examination of the person, incorporating methodologies that are recognized by experts in the prediction of dangerousness, and including a prediction of the probability that the person will engage in future criminal behavior if released on conditions to be set by the board. The board may consider a person's failure to participate in an evaluation under this subsection in determining whether to release the person. The board shall order the person released under such affirmative and other conditions as the board determines appropriate, unless the board determines by a preponderance of the evidence that, despite such conditions, it is more likely than not that the person will commit new criminal law violations if released. The board shall give public safety considerations the highest priority when making all discretionary decisions regarding the ability for release and conditions of release.
Obviously, this does not provide for a "resentencing" in a "court," with consideration of Miller factors, as RCW 10.95.030(3) (which applies to aggravated first degree murderers) does.
¶ 44 But our Washington cases do not require one set of heightened protections for juveniles committing aggravated first degree murders and a lesser set of protections for juveniles committing less culpable murderers. Instead, our state case law holds that in both cases, " 'a sentencer *610follow[s] a certain process-considering an offender's youth and attendant characteristics-before imposing a particular penalty.' " McNeil,
C. The United States Supreme Court's holdings in Millerand Montgomery do not bar this postconviction remedy
¶ 45 As noted by the majority, the Montgomery Court cited with approval a post- Miller Wyoming statute that permitted juvenile homicide offenders to be considered for parole after 25 years, rather than requiring resentencing.
¶ 46 Further, Washington courts would not be bound by the United States Supreme Court's statement about available *611state court remedies even if it were not dictum. This is clear from Danforth v. Minnesota, in which the United States Supreme Court stated that its limitations on the availability of relief for violations of new rules of constitutional law do not "limit a state court's authority to grant relief for violations of new rules of constitutional law when reviewing its own State's convictions."
CONCLUSION
¶ 47 I agree with the majority's conclusion that under the Eighth Amendment, RCW 9.94A.730 is constitutionally adequate. But over the almost 30-year history of this case, Scott's youthfulness has never been considered as a mitigating factor. RCW 9.94A.730 does not provide for the Fain and McNeil compliant resentencing that would remedy this constitutional problem. For that reason, it is not an adequate "fix" for that problem under our state constitution and case law.
¶ 48 I therefore concur.
Yu, J.
González, J.
Miller v. Alabama,
Roper v. Simmons,
Graham v. Florida,
State v. Fain,
Id. at 394,
"The [United States Supreme] Court held that Miller announced a substantive rule that 'life without parole [is] an unconstitutional penalty for "a class of defendants because of their status"-that is, juvenile offenders whose crimes reflect the transient immaturity of youth.' " Ramos
"[I]t is clear that in order to give effect to Miller 's substantive holding, every case where a juvenile offender faces a standard range sentence of life without parole (or its functional equivalent) necessarily requires a Miller hearing."
"[T]he Eighth Amendment requires trial courts to exercise ... discretion [to consider the mitigating qualities of youth] whether the youth is sentenced in juvenile or adult court and whether the transfer to adult court is discretionary or mandatory."Houston-Sconiers,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Jai'Mar Eli SCOTT, Petitioner.
- Cited By
- 24 cases
- Status
- Published