State v. Sloan
| Citation | 121 Wash. App. 220,87 P.3d 1214,121 Wn. App. 220 |
| Decision Date | 19 April 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 52019-9-I.,52019-9-I. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Washington |
| Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Tina SLOAN, Appellant. |
Christopher H. Gibson, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.
Carl A. Colasurdo, King Co Pros Ofc, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.
The maximum punishment for every offense is set by the legislature. The total punishment, including imprisonment and community custody, may not exceed the statutory maximum. Where a defendant is sentenced to the statutory maximum, and also sentenced to community custody, the judgment and sentence should set forth the statutory maximum and clarify that the term of community custody cannot exceed that maximum.
Tina Sloan pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child in the third degree and one count of child molestation in the third degree. The trial court sentenced her to the statutory maximum of 60 months' confinement for each count, to be served concurrently. In addition, the court imposed 36 to 48 months' community custody.
Sloan objected to the community custody provision of her sentence, arguing that upon her release from prison, she will have served the statutory maximum. The court declined to strike it, but agreed to insert the following qualification: "Defendant is not to be incarcerated for any violations as upon her release she will have served the maximum time allowed."1 Sloan appeals.
The Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) requires community custody for most sex offenders:
When a court sentences a person to the custody of the department [of corrections] for a sex offense not sentenced under RCW 9.94A.712, ... the court shall in addition to the other terms of the sentence, sentence the offender to community custody for the community custody range established by RCW 9.94A.850 or up to the period of earned early release awarded pursuant to RCW 9.94A.728 (1) and (2), whichever is longer.
RCW 9.94A.715(1). Except as relates to collection of restitution, a sentence may not exceed the statutory maximum term set by the legislature. RCW 9.94A.505(5). Sloan maintains that her total sentence was more than the statutory maximum of 60 months' confinement, and exceeded the court's authority.
We rejected a similar argument in State v. Vanoli, 86 Wash.App. 643, 937 P.2d 1166 (1997). Vanoli was convicted on drug charges carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. He was sentenced to 120 months' confinement, plus 12 months of community supervision. He argued the aggregate sentence exceeded the statutory maximum. We rejected this argument, and held that Vanoli's sentence did not exceed the maximum because prisoners who earn early release credits, and transfer to community custody status in lieu of earned early release, have not yet served the maximum. Vanoli, 86 Wash.App. at 655,937 P.2d 1166 (citing former RCW 9.94A.150 (1) & (2), recodified as RCW 9.94A.728 (Laws of 2001, ch. 10, § 6)). If Vanoli is released from prison before he serves a full 10 years, because of the number of early release credits he has earned, he will serve the community supervision ordered in his judgment and sentence up to the 10-year maximum. On the other hand, if he earns no early release time and serves the entire sentence, he will be released with no further obligation. "Under neither of these scenarios will Vanoli serve more than the statutory maximum sentence of 120 months." Vanoli, 86 Wash.App. at 655,937 P.2d 1166.
The same is true here. Sloan was sentenced to the statutory maximum, but she may earn early release credits and transfer to community custody before serving the entire term. RCW 9.94A.728(1) & (2)(b). In that event, Sloan will remain in community custody for up to the statutory range of 36 to 48 months, but...
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State v. Nulf, No. 36276-7-II (Wash. App. 9/17/2008)
...maximum of five years. Nulf is correct. The maximum punishment for every offense is set by the legislature. State v. Sloan, 121 Wn. App. 220, 221, 87 P.3d 1214 (2004). The total punishment, including imprisonment and community custody, may not exceed the statutory maximum for a particular o......
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...Calculation of a crime's statutory maximum penalty includes both time imprisoned and time on community custody. State v. Sloan, 121 Wash.App. 220, 221, 87 P.3d 1214 (2004); RCW 9.94A.505(5) (“a court may not impose a sentence providing for a term of confinement or community custody that exc......
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