State v. Warfield, No. 23951-5-II
Decision Date | 18 August 2000 |
Docket Number | No. 23952-3-II, No. 23951-5-II, No. 23953-1-II. |
Citation | 5 P.3d 1280,103 Wash. App. 152,103 Wn. App. 152 |
Court | Washington Court of Appeals |
Parties | STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Samuel William WARFIELD, Appellant. State of Washington, Respondent, v. Mark Todd Richardson, Appellant. State of Washington, Respondent, v. Derek Dominic Gonzales, Appellant. |
Lisa Elizabeth Tabbut, Cowlitz County Pros. Office, James Jay Stonier, Cowlitz County Prosecutor, Kelso, for Respondent.
Eleanor Marie Couto, John A. Hays (Court Appointed), Longview, Charles Henry Buckley, Baum, Etengoff & Buckley (Court Appointed), Vancouver, for Appellants.
Samuel William Warfield, Mark Todd Richardson, and Derek Dominic Gonzales appeal their convictions for unlawful imprisonment. They argue that the unlawful imprisonment statute, RCW 9A.40.040, is unconstitutionally vague and that their convictions should have been dismissed because the State failed to prove an essential element of the crime—that they knowingly acted without lawful authority when they restrained a man for whom an Arizona arrest warrant was outstanding and checked with local police before returning him to an Arizona jail. We hold that the statutory definition of unlawful imprisonment, to "knowingly restrain," causes the adverb "knowingly" to modify all components of the statutory definition of "restrain," including the "without lawful authority" component. Accordingly, we reverse.
The State charged Samuel Warfield, Mark Richardson, and Derek Gonzales with one count of unlawful imprisonment (Count I) and one count of fourth degree assault (Count II). The assault charged was later merged into the unlawful imprisonment charge. Trial was conducted on the following stipulated facts:
The trial court convicted all three as charged and sentenced them within the standard range. The trial court denied their motions to dismiss, concluding that as a matter of law: (1) The defendants had no lawful authority to restrain DeBolt; (2) the Arizona misdemeanor arrest warrant, standing alone, had no lawful effect in Washington; (3) "[t]hat the defendants had a good faith belief in the validity of the Arizona misdemeanor warrant in Washington [was] not a defense"; and (4) the unlawful restraint statute was not void for vagueness.
We consolidated the defendants' three appeals.
Courts should construe statutes to avoid absurd results. Young v. Estate of Snell, 134 Wash.2d 267, 282, 948 P.2d 1291 (1997); State v. Day, 96 Wash.2d 646, 648, 638 P.2d 546 (1981); State v. Chester, 82 Wash.App. 422, 427, 918 P.2d 514 (1996). In interpreting statutes, we give effect to the object and intent of the Legislature. Ravsten v. Department of Labor & Indus., 108 Wash.2d 143, 150, 736 P.2d 265 (1987); Herzog v. Department of Labor & Indus., 40 Wash.App. 20, 25, 696 P.2d 1247 (1985).2 Where the meaning of a statute is clear on its face, we assume that the Legislature "means exactly what it says"3 and we give effect to the plain language without regard to rules of statutory construction. Allan v. Department of Labor & Indus., 66 Wash.App. 415, 418, 832 P.2d 489 (1992).
Here, neither the plain language of the unlawful imprisonment statute nor the legislative history supports the State's contention that the Legislature intended "knowingly" to modify only the restricting-another's-movements component. Because we find the meaning of RCW 9A.40.040 clear on its face, and supported by legislative history, we need not reach the other issues,4 including those relating to the statute's constitutionality.
To convict defendants of the crime of unlawful imprisonment, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they "knowingly" restrained DeBolt. RCW 9A.40.040(1). To prove that they "restrained" Debolt, the State had to prove that they restricted DeBolt's movements (a) without consent and (b) without legal authority, in a manner which interfered substantially with his liberty. RCW 9A.40.010(1).
Here, it is undisputed that defendants restricted DeBolt without his consent and without legal authority, in a manner which interfered substantially with his liberty. It is also clear that defendants knew that DeBolt did not consent to his capture, and that they did not know that they were restraining DeBolt without legal authority. Rather, they believed that they were acting lawfully when they restrained DeBolt, especially after they summoned the Kelso police, showed them the warrant, and the police allowed defendants to retain custody of DeBolt and remove him to Arizona. That defendants' belief in the lawfulness of their authority to arrest DeBolt was erroneous, does not transform their actions into the crime of unlawful imprisonment.
In RCW 9A.40.040, which establishes the crime of unlawful imprisonment, the adverb "knowingly" modifies the verb "restrain." For kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment crimes, the Legislature crafted its own definition of "restrain" in RCW 9A.40.010(1). This definition has four primary components: (1) restricting another's movements; (2) without that person's consent; (3) without legal authority; and (4) in a manner that substantially interferes with that person's liberty. Because the Legislature has seen fit to fold all four components into the definition of "restrain," then all four components are equally modified by the adverb "knowingly," which modifies "restrain" in the statutory definition of unlawful imprisonment.
The plain language of the statute is consistent with its legislative history. The Legislature enacted RCW 9A.40.010(1) and .040 in 1975 as part of a comprehensive new criminal code, now known as the Washington Criminal Code. RCW 9A.04.010; Laws of 1975, 1st Ex.Sess., ch. 260 § 9A.04.010. When the Legislature enacted the Washington Criminal Code, "it had before it a precursor code known colloquially as the Orange Code and officially as the proposed Revised Washington Criminal Code...." State v. Thomson, 71 Wash.App. 634, 643, 861 P.2d 492 (1993).5 The Model Penal Code (MPC)6 was the predecessor to the Orange Code. Orange Code at 164. The elements of "unlawful imprisonment" and the definition of "restraint" in the current code and the Orange Code are the same, and they are similar to their counterparts in the MPC.7 Thus, the MPC sheds light on whether the Washington Legislature intended that the adverb "knowingly"8 modify the phrase "without legal authority."9
The MPC provides that a person commits one of two unlawful imprisonment offenses (§ 212.2 felony or § 212.3 misdemeanor) by "knowingly restrain[ing] another unlawfully." 2 AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE, MODEL PENAL CODE AND COMMENTARIES, Sections 212.2, .3, at 237, 244, (1980)[hereinafter ALI]. One comment states, "Both offenses require knowledge of the unlawful nature of the restraint."10 ALI, Section 212.2, Comment at 208. Similarly, another comment states:
Section 212.2 [felony unlawful imprisonment] requires proof that the accused acted knowingly. Thus, he must have been aware that he was restraining his victim, [and] that the restraint was unlawful....
ALI, Section 212.2, Comment at 242....
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