Smith v. Whatcom County Dist. Court

• Decision Date: 15 August 2002
• Docket Number: No. 70817-7.,70817-7.
• Citation: 147 Wash.2d 98,52 P.3d 485
• Parties: Virginia L. SMITH, Respondent, v. WHATCOM COUNTY DISTRICT COURT, and the Honorable Edward Ross, Appellant.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

52 P.3d 485

147 Wash.2d 98

Virginia L. SMITH, Respondent, v. WHATCOM COUNTY DISTRICT COURT, and the Honorable Edward Ross, Appellant.

No. 70817-7.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued March 12, 2002.

Decided August 15, 2002.

David McEachran, Whatcom County Prosecutor, Thomas Seguine, Deputy, Bellingham, for Appellant.

Eric Weight, Bellingham, for Respondent.

OWENS, J.

Virginia Smith was jailed by the Whatcom County District Court for nonpayment of fines that were seven and five years old. The superior court granted a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that former RCW 3.66.068 (1999) limits the district court's subject matter jurisdiction to jail a defendant for nonpayment of fines to a period of two years after a conviction. The district court appeals. Although we hold that former RCW 3.66.068 (1999) does not apply to this case, we nevertheless hold that the district court's exercise of its jurisdiction did not comport with due process. We accordingly affirm the writ.

FACTS

Two criminal convictions are the basis for this writ of habeas corpus. In district court case number 6942747, Smith pleaded guilty on August 9, 1993, to No Valid Operator's License (NOVOL) and Nonappearance After a Written Promise to Appear. The court fined her $350. No jail time was imposed. In district court case number 7873614, Smith pleaded guilty on May 31, 1995, to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driving With a Suspended License in the Third Degree. She was fined $1,525, sentenced to 365 days in jail with 363 days suspended, and placed on probation for two years. A condition of probation was completion of alcohol treatment.

A probation hearing for the DUI case was held on May 5, 1996. At that time Smith had paid only $25 toward her fines, and had not completed alcohol treatment. The district court reinstated probation on condition of full compliance. Smith still did not pay the fine and still did not undergo alcohol treatment. On July 26, 1996, the district court revoked probation. Upon revocation the court imposed 15 days in jail of the 363 days originally suspended. The court waived the probation fee, reducing Smith's DUI fine to $950 with $925 owing.

In both cases the court and Smith entered into time payment agreements within a few days of sentencing. These allowed Smith to make installment payments on her fines. As noted, Smith made only one $25 payment. The August 1993 NOVOL conviction was removed from the time payment agreement on December 9, 1993, and sent to a collection agency on January 18, 1994. The May 1995 DUI conviction was removed from time payment on July 17, 1996, and sent to the collection agency on September 16, 1996. However, collections failed as well, and both cases were returned as uncollectible on November 16, 1999.

In the meantime the court advised Smith on October 20, 1993, that she could work off her fines through community service in a parks program. Between June 6, 1995, and January 2, 1996, Smith signed up for the parks program four times. However, she never contacted the program to begin community service.

After collections returned the fines, the district court held a fine review hearing for both cases on February 11, 2000. The court ordered Smith to pay $25 per month or contact the parks program, and scheduled another hearing for March 31, 2000. Smith did not appear for the follow-up hearing. On June 22, 2000, the court issued a bench warrant for failure to pay the fines or appear at the hearing.

On October 24, 2000, Smith was arrested on the bench warrant and a hearing was held. The prosecutor argued that Smith's case was a "pay or stay" situation. A public defender appeared on Smith's behalf even though no formal appointment of counsel had been made. The public defender argued that there was no jurisdiction to place Smith in jail because the cases were more than two years old. Siding with the state, the district court ordered that Smith be held in jail on "pay or stay" status with credit toward her fines of $40 per day. The court set bail at $1,175, the unpaid amount of Smith's fines.

Smith petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in superior court. She alleged that her restraint was unlawful for two reasons: (1) because the district court's jurisdiction over the two convictions expired after two years; and (2) because the district court did not first find that Smith was able but unwilling to pay her fines. The superior court released her pending its decision, and ultimately granted the writ. The superior court concluded that the district court lacked jurisdiction to jail Smith, and decreed that the district court, "shall not issue any warrants or incarcerate defendants for non-payment of fines in any other cases before the court more than two years after the imposition of sentence." Clerk's Papers at 6. The district court appeals.

ISSUES

(1) Did the district court have statutory jurisdiction to jail Smith for nonpayment of fines more than two years after her convictions?

(2) Did the district court's exercise of jurisdiction comport with due process?

(3) Was the writ of habeas corpus proper?

ANALYSIS

Jurisdiction. Washington's courts of limited jurisdiction are created by the legislature. Const. art. IV, §§ 1, 12. The legislature has sole authority to prescribe their jurisdiction and powers. Young v. Konz, 91 Wash.2d 532, 540, 588 P.2d 1360 (1979). The subject matter jurisdiction of district courts is therefore limited to that affirmatively granted by statute. Whether a district court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law reviewed de novo. Crosby v. Spokane County, 137 Wash.2d 296, 301, 971 P.2d 32 (1999). This case requires sorting out several related statutes.

The affirmative grant of jurisdiction in this case is RCW 10.04.110. It provides:

In all cases of conviction, unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the judge shall enter judgment for the fine and costs against the defendant, and may commit him to jail until the amount of such fine and costs owing are paid,....

This statute authorizes a district court to jail a defendant for nonpayment of a fine. RCW 10.04.110 further provides: "The amount of such fine and costs owing shall be computed as provided for superior court cases in RCW 10.82.030 and 10.82.040." Those statutes authorize commitment for failure to pay fines assessed in superior court. The amount of a fine owing is reduced by any sums paid and by an established amount for every day the defendant spends in jail. RCW 10.82.030. "Pay or stay" status is thus affirmatively authorized by statute for defendants with unpaid fines.

RCW 10.01.180 says that a defendant who defaults in the payment of a fine or an installment "is in contempt of court as provided in chapter 7.21 RCW." RCW 10.01.180(1). It authorizes the court to issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest. Id. It is clear that a defendant may be jailed for nonpayment, since RCW 10.01.180(3) applies "[i]f a term of imprisonment for contempt for nonpayment ... is ordered." This subsection would be surplusage if such imprisonment could not be ordered.

Chapter 7.21 RCW, to which RCW 10.01.180 refers, concerns contempt of court. It defines "contempt" inter alia as "intentional ... [d]isobedience of any lawful judgment." RCW 7.21.010(1)(b). "Contempt may be criminal or civil." State v. Breazeale, 144 Wash.2d 829, 842, 31 P.3d 1155 (2001). "The primary purpose of the civil contempt power is to coerce a party to comply with an order or judgment." Id. A civil contempt sanction is allowed as long as it serves coercive, not punitive, purposes. In re Pers. Restraint of King, 110 Wash.2d 793, 802, 756 P.2d 1303 (1988). Criminal contempt is punitive. Id. at 800, 756 P.2d 1303. A prosecutor must file a complaint or an information to seek a punitive sanction. RCW 7.21.040(2)(a). In criminal contempt cases, the contemnor is afforded "those due process rights extended to other criminal defendants," King, 110 Wash.2d at 800, 756 P.2d 1303, and has a right to a jury trial, State v. Boatman, 104 Wash.2d 44, 46, 700 P.2d 1152 (1985).

The contempt proceeding authorized by RCW 10.01.180 is civil. The purpose of "pay or stay" imprisonment is to coerce the defendant to pay the fine imposed by the judgment. The defendant can avoid jail by paying. A contempt sanction is civil "if it is conditional and indeterminate, i.e., where the contemnor carries the keys of the prison door in his own pocket and can let himself out by simply obeying the court order." King, 110 Wash.2d at 800, 756 P.2d 1303. Giving the defendant credit toward the fine for each day in jail renders the term of imprisonment determinate, but not punitive. Each day remains conditional on the defendant's choice to pay or not.

Seeking a civil contempt remedy for nonpayment of fines under RCW 10.04.110 and 10.01.180 is seeking enforcement of a judgment. Under RCW 10.04.110, the district court enters "judgment" for the fine after a conviction (emphasis added). Collecting a fine is consistently referred to as an "execution." Although it was not done in this case, a defendant may stay a fine under RCW 10.04.120 by procuring sufficient sureties. The statutory language is telling: "Every defendant may stay the execution for the fine and costs for thirty days,...." RCW 10.04.120 (emphasis added). When the defendant's recognizance is entered on the docket, it has "the same effect as a judgment." Id. (emphasis added). If the fine is not paid in 30 days under this procedure, then, proceeding "as in like cases in the superior court," id., "a joint execution shall issue against the defendant and the bail, and an execution against the body of the defendant, who shall be committed to jail," RCW 10.82.025 (emphasis added). Extending time to pay a fine is described as staying its execution, the promise to pay is described as having the effect of a judgment, and sending the defendant to jail is an execution. RCW 10.01.180 provides that a fine may be...