State v. Houston-Sconiers

• Decision Date: 02 March 2017
• Docket Number: NO. 92605-1,92605-1
• Citation: 391 P.3d 409,188 Wash.2d 1
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Zyion HOUSTON-SCONIERS, Petitioner. State of Washington, Respondent, v. Treson Lee Roberts, Petitioner. In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of Zyion Houston-Sconiers, Petitioner.

188 Wash.2d 1

391 P.3d 409

STATE of Washington, Respondent,

v.Zyion HOUSTON-SCONIERS, Petitioner.

State of Washington, Respondent,

v.Treson Lee Roberts, Petitioner.

In the Matter of the Personal Restraint of Zyion Houston-Sconiers, Petitioner.

NO. 92605-1

Supreme Court of Washington.

Argued Oct. 18, 2016

Filed Mar. 2, 2017

Stephanie C. Cunningham, Attorney at Law, 4616 25th Ave. N.E., # 552, Seattle, WA, 98105-4183, Kathryn A. Russell Selk, Russell Selk Law Office, 1037 N.E. 65th St., Seattle, WA, 98115-6655, for Petitioner.

Michelle Hyer, Pierce County Prosecutor, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Rm. 946, Tacoma, WA, 98402-2102, Thomas Charles Roberts, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Rm. 946, Tacoma, WA, 98402-2171, for Respondent.

Travis Stearns, Washington Appellate Project, 1511 3rd Ave., Ste. 701, Seattle, WA, 98101-3647, Nancy Lynn Talner, Attorney at Law, 901 5th Ave., Ste. 630, Seattle, WA, 98164-2008, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of ACLU of Washington.

Hickory Maimonides Gateless, Center for Children & Youth Justice, 615 2nd Ave., Ste. 275, Seattle, WA, 98104-2245, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Center for Children & Youth Justice.

Suzanne Lee Elliott, Attorney at Law, 705 2nd Ave., Ste. 1300, Seattle, WA, 98104-1797, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Robert S. Chang, Lorraine K. Bannai, Jessica Levin, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave., Korematsu Center for Law & Equality, Seattle, WA, 98122-4411, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality.

Anne Aiping Lee, TeamChild, 1225 S. Weller St., Ste. 420, Seattle, WA, 98144-1906, George Yeannakis, Office of Public Defense, P.O. Box 40957, Olympia, WA, 98504-0957, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of TeamChild.

Amanda Elizabeth Lee, Law Office of Amanda Lee, 810 3rd Ave., Ste. 500, Seattle, WA, 98104-1619, Cindy Arends Elsberry, Washington Defender Association, 110 Prefontaine Pl. S., Ste. 610, Seattle, WA, 98104-2626, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Defender Association.

Nicholas Brian Allen, Attorney at Law, 101 Yesler Way, Ste. 300, Seattle, WA, 98104-2528, Melissa R. Lee, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave., Korematsu Center For Law & Equality, Seattle, WA, 98122-4411, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Columbia Legal Services.

Aaron Bartlett, Attorney at Law, P.O. Box 5000, 1013 Franklin St., Vancouver, WA, 98666-5000, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Charles Christian Sipos, David A. Perez, Alexander Mitchell Fenner, Perkins Coie LLP, 1201 3rd Ave., Ste. 4900, Seattle, WA, 98101-3099, Robert S. Chang, Jessica Levin, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave., Korematsu Center for Law & Equality, Seattle, WA, 98122-4411, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality.

Nikkita Oliver, Attorney at Law, P.O. Box 20796, Seattle, WA, 98102-1796, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Creative Justice.

Marsha L. Levick, Juvenile Law Center, 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 400, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, Nancy P. Collins, Washington Appellate Project, 1511 3rd Ave., Ste. 701, Seattle, WA, 98101-3647, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Juvenile Law Center.

Marsha L. Levick, Juvenile Law Center, 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 400, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, Nancy P. Collins, Washington Appellate Project, 1511 3rd Ave., Ste. 701, Seattle, WA, 98101-3647, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of National Juvenile Defender Center.

GORDON McCLOUD, J.

¶1 "[C]hildren are different." Miller v. Alabama , 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 2470, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). That difference has constitutional ramifications: "An offender's age is relevant to the Eighth Amendment, and [so] criminal procedure laws that fail to take defendants' youthfulness into account at all would be flawed." Graham v. Florida , 560 U.S. 48, 76, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010) ; U.S. CONST. amend. VIII.

¶2 The defendants in this case—Zyion Houston-Sconiers and Treson Roberts—are children. On Halloween night in 2012, they were 17 and 16 years old, respectively. They robbed mainly other groups of children, and they netted mainly candy.

¶3 But they faced very adult consequences. They were charged with crimes that brought them automatically into adult (rather than juvenile) court, without any opportunity for a judge to exercise discretion about the appropriateness of such transfers. They had lengthy adult sentencing ranges calculated under adult Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA), chapter 9.94A RCW, rules. And they received lengthy adult firearm sentence enhancements, with their mandatory, consecutive, flat-time consequences, without any opportunity for a judge to exercise discretion about the appropriateness of that sentence increase, either.

¶4 As a result, Houston-Sconiers faced a sentencing range of 501-543 months (41.75-45.25 years) in prison. Clerk's Papers (Houston-Sconiers) (CPHS) at 227. Of that, 372 months (31 years) was attributable to the firearm sentence enhancements and would be served as " ‘flat time,’ " meaning "in total confinement" without possibility of early release. Id. ; RCW 9.94A.533(3)(e). Roberts faced a sentencing range of 441-483 months (36.75-40.25 years) in prison. Clerk's Papers (Roberts) (CPR) at 154. Of that, 312 months (26 years) would be " ‘flat time’ " attributable to the firearm sentence enhancements. Id.¶5 To their credit, all participants in the system balked at this result. But they felt their hands were tied by our state statutes.

¶6 We now hold that the sentencing judge's hands are not tied. Because "children are different" under the Eighth Amendment and hence "criminal procedure laws" must take the defendants' youthfulness into account, sentencing courts must have absolute discretion to depart as far as they want below otherwise applicable SRA ranges and/or sentencing enhancements when sentencing juveniles in adult court, regardless of how the juvenile got there. We affirm all convictions but remand both cases for resentencing.

FACTS

¶7 On Halloween evening, October 31, 2012, petitioners Houston-Sconiers, then 17, and Roberts, then 16, met up at Roberts's home. 16 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (July 22, 2013) at 1437-38. At some point, the two boys were joined by three friends, A.T., L.A., and Z.J. Id. at 1436-38. Together, the teens drank vodka, passed around marijuana, and played basketball. Id. at 1438-40. At trial, L.A. testified that during this time, he saw Houston-Sconiers holding a silver revolver. Id. at 1454-55. According to L.A., Houston-Sconiers also had in his possession a "Jason mask," a white hockey mask. Id. at 1447. After a few hours, the five teens left the house to walk to Stanley Elementary School across the street. Id. at 1437, 1440. No one else was there, so L.A. and A.T. parted ways with the remaining three boys—petitioners and a 13-year-old boy named Z.J. Id. at 1441, 1443.

¶8 A little later that evening, after dark, Andrew Donnelly, 19, and his 13-year-old brother, S.D., were approached by a group of three boys in the North End neighborhood of Tacoma. 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 992-93. One boy held a silver gun and wore a "Jason mask," "a white hockey mask with holes in it." Id. at 993, 1004, 1020. The boys took the Donnellys' candy and Andrew Donnelly's red devil mask. Id. at 1000. Andrew Donnelly had a cell phone in his possession, but it was not taken. Id. at 997.

¶9 Also out trick-or-treating that night in the North End was a group of five high school students. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 771-73. After a few hours out, they were approached by three boys wearing black hoodies and masks. Id. at 774-75, 819-20, 832, 871; 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 955. One of the masks was the red devil mask that had been taken from Andrew Donnelly. 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 956. One of the boys had a silver gun. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 781, 786; 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 957. The boys demanded the group's bags of candy and cell phones. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 786, 872; 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 954. At least two of the youth had cell phones with them, but did not give them up. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 786, 874. Several of them did, however, give up their bags of candy. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 786, 821, 873; 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 958-59.

¶10 One youth, A.G., "hid" her bag of candy, turned, and walked to the nearest house. 11 VRP (July 15, 2013) at 821, 825. She rang the bell "[t]o get some help," struggling with what to say to the residents before finally telling them to "call the police." Id. at 825-26, 853. A.G. testified that while she was able to speak "with confidence" while trick- or-treating before the robbery, she "wasn't confident" at the house where she asked for help, and "was stuck" on what to say because the event was "unbelievable." Id. at 852, 826. A.G. also acknowledged that while no one in the group was physically hurt, they were "[r]eally scared." Id. at 859. She recognized the voice of one of the robbers as belonging to someone she knew as "Tiny," and identified "Tiny" at trial as Houston-Sconiers. Id. at 824-25. Although the two girls from the group, A.G. and D.P.M., were "scared to call the police," D.P.M.'s parents reported the robbery later that night. Id. at 856-57.

¶11 Some time later, Officer Rodney Halfhill responded to a call at a nearby apartment complex. 12 VRP (July 16, 2013) at 1067. A "frantic" 37-year-old African-American man named James Wright reported that he had just been robbed of his cell phone by "four to five black males," one of whom carried "a silver revolver" and wore "a Jason-style hockey mask." Id. at 1071, 1073-74. L.A. testified that when he again met up with petitioners and the third boy, Z.J., at the end of the evening, he watched petitioners steal a "middle age" African-American man's cell phone at gunpoint in an apartment complex. 16 VRP (July 22, 2013) at 1456. L.A. said they used the same gun that Houston-Sconiers had earlier that...