Citations and pin cites are based on the Westlaw online version of the cited material.

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION ONE

IN THE MATTER OF THE PERSONAL 

RESTRAINT OF

ABDULLAHI NOOR,

Petitioner.

No. 80891-5-I

OPINION DENYING 

EMERGENCY MOTION 

FOR RELEASE UNDER 

RAP 16.15(b)

PER CURIAM – Petitioner Abdullahi Noor is serving an indeterminate life 

sentence after being convicted of rape, witness intimidation, assault in the fourth 

degree, harassment and three counts of misdemeanor violation of a court order. 

This court affirmed his conviction and sentence in 2018. See State v. Noor, 4 Wn. 

App.2d 1009, review denied, 192 Wn.2d 1003 (2018). On December 18, 2019, 

Noor filed a personal restraint petition raising eight claims he contends justify 

reversal of his convictions. This court has requested a response from the State, 

the deadline for which is May 4, 2020.

On April 14, 2020, Noor filed an emergency motion seeking to be released 

from prison on personal recognizance or on conditions of release under RAP 

16.15(b), claiming that the coronavirus pandemic presents him with an undue risk 

of infection. This court requested a response to this motion, which the State filed 

on April 21, 2020. A panel of this court, having reviewed the motion and response, 

DENIES Noor’s emergency motion.
No. 80891-5-I/2

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RAP 16.15(b) provides:

(b) Release by Appellate Court of Person in Custody. The 

appellate court may release a petitioner on bail or personal 

recognizance before deciding the petition, if release prevents further 

unlawful confinement and it is unjust to delay the petitioner’s release 

until the petition is determined. The appellate court or the superior 

court in its decision on the merits, or by separate order after a 

decision on the merits, may release a petitioner on bail or on 

personal recognizance. The appellate court may direct the release 

of petitioner with the conditions of release to be determined by a trial 

court.

RAP 16.15(b) does not contemplate the release of a defendant convicted and 

sentenced to life in prison before the court had addressed the merits of that 

defendant’s petition. The first sentence of this rule was intended to facilitate 

release of a petitioner in advance of the time required to prepare and circulate an 

opinion. 3 TEGLAND, WASHINGTON PRACTICE: RULES PRACTICE RAP 

16.15 (8th ed. 2014). Release is generally authorized under RAP 16.15(b) only 

when the defendant has demonstrated a “clearly meritorious case.” 1 Wash. State 

Bar Ass’n, Washington Appellate Practice Deskbook §24.7(13) (4th ED. 2016). 

We are not in a position to make such a determination on an emergency basis, 

particularly when the State has not even had the opportunity to address the merits 

of Noor’s petition.

Under RCW 9.95.062(2), Noor was ineligible from being released during his 

direct appeal. Now that his convictions have been affirmed on direct appeal and 

are final, we find his argument for release pending consideration of a collateral 

attack to be even less compelling. Absent statutory authority, there is no right to 

release on bail once a conviction is final. State v. Reese, 15 Wn. App. 619, 621-

22, 550 P.2d 1179 (1976). Noor’s convictions became final in 2018 when the 
No. 80891-5-I/3

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Supreme Court denied his petition for review after this court rejected his direct 

appeal. Until relief is granted in a personal restraint petition, the convictions are

considered final for all purposes. State v. LaBeur, 33 Wn. App. 762, 764, 657 P.2d 

802 (1983).

In order to warrant release from prison pending the resolution of a habeas 

petition, a federal petitioner must show “substantial question” making the 

application for release “exceptional and deserving of special treatment in the 

interests of justice.” Aronson v. May, 85 S.Ct. 3, 5, 13 L. Ed. 2d 6 (1964); Martin 

v. Solem, 801 F. 2d 324, 329 (8th Cir. 1986).

Noor has not demonstrated any special circumstances warranting his 

release pending our consideration of the merits of his collateral attack. We

recognize that the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised concerns about the risk 

of infection that the prison population faces. Whether the Department of 

Corrections (DOC) is taking adequate steps to mitigate this risk is pending before 

our Supreme Court in a mandamus action brought by a group of inmates, Colvin 

v. Inslee, No. 98317-8. But Noor does not fall within any of the populations at high 

risk of infection. He has presented no evidence that he has any increased risk 

factors under current standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention.1 And as of April 23, 2020, the DOC facility in which Noor is confined, 

Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, reports no confirmed infections among 

incarcerated individuals.

2

 1 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-at-higher-risk.html

2 https://www.doc.wa.gov/news/covid-19.htm#status
No. 80891-5-I/4

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Further, according to the DOC website, on April 13, 2020, Governor Inslee 

and the DOC began to implement steps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic 

to mitigate any risk to its incarcerated population, including emergency 

commutations of sentences for certain low-risk, non-violent offenders,3 early 

release of certain incarcerated individuals through furloughs or emergency medical 

releases,4 and allowing others to serve the remainder of their sentences in the 

community.5 While Noor, who is serving an indeterminate sentence for rape, does 

not appear to qualify for release under any of these programs, the stated goal is to 

reduce the overall prison population, thereby mitigating any risks Noor may 

continue to face while incarcerated.

Based on the record before us, Noor’s motion for emergency release is 

DENIED.

 3 https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID-19%20-

%20Commutation%20Order%204.15.20%20%28tmp%29.pdf

4 https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/proclamations/20-50%20-%20COVID19%20Reducing%20Prison%20Population.pdf

5 https://www.doc.wa.gov/news/2020/04162020p.htm