State v. K.A.B.
| Decision Date | 25 August 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 51051-1-II (consolidated with No. 52921-1-II),51051-1-II (consolidated with No. 52921-1-II) |
| Citation | 475 P.3d 216,14 Wash.App.2d 677 |
| Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. K.A.B., Appellant. |
| Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
Robert Charles Boruchowitz, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave., Seattle, WA, 98122-4411, for Appellant/Petitioner.
Katherine Lee Svoboda, Grays Harbor Co. Pros. Ofc., 102 W Broadway Ave. Rm. 102, Montesano, WA, 98563-3621, for Respondent.
Cruser, J. ¶1 K.A.B. seeks reversal of her custodial assault conviction, both through a personal restraint petition and a direct appeal, which we have consolidated for review.
¶2 In her direct appeal, K.A.B. argues that the juvenile court erred because (1) it misapprehended the law on juvenile capacity, (2) the juvenile court's finding that K.A.B. had the capacity to commit a crime was not supported by substantial evidence, (3) the finding that K.A.B. had the intent to commit custodial assault was not supported by substantial evidence because K.A.B. suffered from diminished capacity due to the dosage of fluoxetine (Prozac
) she was taking at the time of the custodial assault, (4) the conclusion that the detention officer was acting within the scope of her "official duties" was not supported because the restraints she used against K.A.B. were excessive under the circumstances, and (5) the juvenile court should have considered whether K.A.B. was acting in self-defense.
¶3 In a personal restraint petition (PRP), K.A.B. raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on various instances of alleged deficient performance, including that counsel failed to adequately prepare and present a diminished capacity defense. She argues that no legitimate trial strategy can account for counsel's errors and that she suffered prejudice. K.A.B. also claims that the juvenile court erred in finding capacity, and that the juvenile court judge violated the appearance of fairness doctrine and should have recused himself.
¶4 With regard to her direct appeal, we hold that the juvenile court misapprehended the law on juvenile capacity and applied an incorrect standard when it determined that K.A.B. had capacity to commit a crime under RCW 9A.04.050. On remand, the juvenile court is instructed to hold a new capacity hearing applying the correct standard. We further hold that (1) on the record before the juvenile court, the evidence is sufficient to sustain the finding that K.A.B. had the intent to commit custodial assault, (2) the conclusion that the detention officer was acting within the scope of her official duties was supported by the unchallenged finding of fact, and (3) the juvenile court had no duty to sua sponte consider whether K.A.B. was acting in self-defense.
¶5 With regard to her PRP, we hold that K.A.B. received ineffective assistance of counsel because her trial counsel failed to adequately prepare and present a diminished capacity defense. Accordingly, we reverse K.A.B.’s conviction and remand to a different judge for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
FACTS
¶6 K.A.B. lived with her maternal grandmother who became her adoptive parent after K.A.B.’s biological parents had their parental rights terminated. K.A.B.’s early childhood was "marred by her parents’ problems with mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 52. Since 2013, K.A.B. has received mental health counseling. In 2016, K.A.B. was admitted to Grays Harbor Community Hospital on several occasions related to behavioral issues that included threatening conduct and suicidal ideations
. K.A.B. had previously "exhibited severe, recurrent temper outbursts [that] manifested verbally," and these outbursts were "inconsistent with her developmental level." Id. at 53. After an inpatient stay at Seattle Children's Hospital, K.A.B. was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and possible posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from her "history of abuse and neglect while living with her biological parents." Id. K.A.B. was prescribed a 40 mg dose of fluoxetine, commonly known by its brand-name Prozac, and guanfacine.
¶7 On January 31, 2017, when K.A.B. was 11 years old, she was charged with two counts of second degree assault against her maternal grandmother, each with deadly weapon enhancements. K.A.B. was placed in the Grays Harbor Juvenile Detention facility to await adjudication of these charges.
¶8 While in detention, K.A.B.’s mental health condition continued to affect her. She had approximately 11 incident reports filed on her for behaviors that included name calling, throwing food, and not following directions. K.A.B. had also experienced suicidal episodes while in the detention center on at least five occasions where mental health professionals were involved. At a pretrial hearing on April 20, 2017, the State informed the juvenile court that detention center staff were worried about K.A.B.’s behavior and asked that the juvenile court set up a psychiatric appointment for her.
¶9 During class time at the detention center, K.A.B. was not cooperating with Linda Hayes, the detention center teacher, because she did not want to do her online schoolwork but wanted to work on a crossword puzzle instead. Hayes attempted to redirect K.A.B. to do the online schoolwork, but K.A.B. refused and "became angry." Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (June 16, 2017) at 70-71. K.A.B. was writing swear words on her paper, refused to give her pencil to Hayes, and "[h]er general body language said that she was not happy." Id. at 71. Hayes asked K.A.B. to leave the room, but K.A.B. refused. After a short attempt to get K.A.B. to leave the room, Hayes called the detention staff to remove K.A.B. from the classroom because she "was concerned that [K.A.B.] was going to continue to get upset." Id.
¶10 Detention Officer (DO) Georgia Peterson arrived at the classroom with another DO and saw that "it was pretty quiet, [K.A.B] was playing with some papers on her desk." Id. at 86. K.A.B. continued to refuse to leave the classroom or to make any attempt to stand up and leave on her own, and K.A.B. told Peterson that her voice "was the last voice she wanted to hear." Id. at 86-87. Hayes asked the other students in the classroom to move to the other side of the room for safety, and Peterson and the other DO each grabbed one of K.A.B.’s arms, holding K.A.B. in the escort position, and escorted her out of the classroom. When they arrived at the intake room, Peterson and the other DO placed K.A.B. on the bench in one handcuff and cuffed her to the cuff bar.
¶11 After Peterson and the other DO restrained K.A.B. at the cuff bar, they left K.A.B. alone in the intake area. Detention staff were working on other tasks when Peterson saw on the security camera that K.A.B. was not on the bench and had gotten out of the handcuff.
¶12 When Peterson went back into the intake room with DO Joshua Dick, K.A.B. was holding something in her hand and the detention officers verbally directed K.A.B. to set the object down and sit back on the bench. K.A.B. was in the storage area when Dick and Peterson returned to the intake room. The security video confirmed that K.A.B. had been calmly walking about the intake room and had wandered into the storage area shortly before the DOs arrived.
¶13 While in the storage area, both Dick and Peterson grabbed K.A.B.’s arms and moved K.A.B. to the bench where they restrained K.A.B. in cuffs behind her back. While Dick attempted to apply the leg restraints, K.A.B. was kicking and resisting the restraints. Peterson held K.A.B.’s legs by the knees and had pulled her close to prevent her kicking. K.A.B.’s face was about one and a half feet away from Peterson's when K.A.B. spit on Peterson's face. Peterson then pushed K.A.B.’s face away toward the wall and a third DO came to assist in restraining K.A.B.’s head against the bench. Peterson retrieved a spit mask that completely shrouded K.A.B.’s face and applied it to K.A.B. to prevent her from spitting again.
¶14 K.A.B. apparently continued to swear, refused to comply with verbal instructions, and struck the back of her head against the wall behind her while fully restrained and with the mask covering her face. The three DOs then moved K.A.B. from the bench to a restraint chair. Peterson testified that K.A.B. made threats to kill her while the three DOs were moving K.A.B. from the bench to the restraint chair. Dick also testified that while K.A.B. was sitting back on the bench after the second attempt to restrain her, K.A.B. made threats towards staff and threats of self-harm. K.A.B. was unable to recall what happened in the time between Peterson and Dick retrieving her from the storage room and placing her in the restraint chair. On March 8, the State charged K.A.B. with custodial assault under RCW 9A.36.100(1)(a).
¶15 The juvenile court held a capacity hearing on the custodial assault charge. Defense counsel retained Dr. Fran Lexcen from the Child Study and Treatment Center (CSTC) to conduct a forensic evaluation on K.A.B.’s juvenile capacity. Dr. Lexcen described K.A.B.’s background as including a "home environment of neglect, abuse[,] and domestic violence," and she acknowledged that there was CP 56. The report described K.A.B.’s behavioral problems that Id.
¶16 Dr. Lexcen evaluated factors from the Supreme Court's decision in State v. J.P.S. , 135 Wash.2d 34, 37, 954 P.2d 894 (1998),...
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