Opinion ID: 2630248
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Reclassification of Vehicular Homicide

Text: ¶ 8 The State argues, and the Court of Appeals agreed, that because vehicular homicide is now a class A felony, Rivard's conviction is for a class A felony, whether or not it was originally class B. The State asserts that the law in effect at the time of Rivard's petition applies, not the law in effect at the time he committed the underlying felony. In support of this proposition, the State relies on State v. Schmidt, 143 Wash.2d 658, 23 P.3d 462 (2001). However, the Schmidt opinion does not support the State's argument. ¶ 9 In Schmidt we decided two consolidated cases, both of which involved felons who were later convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm under RCW 9.41.040. The petitioners challenged these latter possession convictions, arguing that because the statute in effect at the time of their original felony convictions did not prohibit firearm possession, later amendments could not impose such a prohibition without violating the ex post facto clauses of the United States and Washington Constitutions. Rejecting these arguments, we concluded that because RCW 9.41.040 is regulatory, not punitive, it does not alter the standard of punishment for prior felony convictions. We observed that it is the law in effect at the time a criminal offense is actually committed that controls disposition of the case. Schmidt, 143 Wash.2d at 673-74, 23 P.3d 462. It is this principle on which the State relies to contend that we must apply the law in effect at the time of Rivard's petition to the facts of this case. ¶ 10 The State is partly correct. We do apply the version of the unlawful possession statute in place in 2006, RCW 9.41.040, to Rivard's case because we must assess whether, at the time of his petition, it would be a crime for him to possess a firearm. Because, as we noted in Schmidt, this statute is a regulatory one, we evaluate whether Rivard should be able to possess a firearm at the time of his petition, not whether he would have been able to possess one in 1993. ¶ 11 However, the analogy to Schmidt ends there. In contrast to the State's argument, our Schmidt holding does not mean that Rivard's vehicular homicide conviction is viewed through the lens of the vehicular homicide statute in place in 2006, RCW 46.61.520. In Schmidt, the offense at issue was the unlawful possession of a firearm, so the applicable law was the law in effect at the time of that offense, the current version of RCW 9.41.040. Unlike in Schmidt, however, Rivard has not violated RCW 9.41.040 by unlawfully possessing a firearm. Thus, the violation of that statute cannot be the relevant offense for determining which vehicular homicide statute should apply. Because Rivard committed his vehicular homicide offense in 1993, under Schmidt, the classification of his conviction is determined by the statute in effect at the time of his offense, under which vehicular homicide was a class B felony. [3] ¶ 12 Rivard argues that his vehicular homicide conviction remains a class B felony pursuant to the saving clause, RCW 10.01.040. That statute provides the following, in relevant part: Whenever any criminal or penal statute shall be amended or repealed, all offenses committed or penalties or forfeitures incurred while it was in force shall be punished or enforced as if it were in force, notwithstanding such amendment or repeal, unless a contrary intention is expressly declared in the amendatory or repealing act. . . . RCW 10.01.040. ¶ 13 The State argued in its brief to the Court of Appeals that the saving clause applies only to statutory repeals, and not to mere amendments. But, by its language, the statute applies to both repeals and amendments. Further, our courts have long held that under the saving clause, amendments to criminal statutes (which include reclassification of crimes) do not apply retroactively to offenses committed before the effective dates of those amendments. See, e.g., State v. Ross, 152 Wash.2d 220, 237-39, 95 P.3d 1225 (2004); State v. McCarthy, 112 Wash.App. 231, 236-37, 48 P.3d 1014 (2002); State v. Kane, 101 Wash.App. 607, 610-12, 5 P.3d 741 (2000). ¶ 14 In the present case, the saving clause precludes retroactive application of the 1996 reclassification of the vehicular homicide statute. No indication exists that the legislature intended this reclassification to apply retroactively. Therefore, the subsequent reclassification of an offense from a class B to a class A felony has no effect on a prior conviction for that offense and does not retroactively convert the conviction to a class A felony. Rivard's vehicular homicide conviction remains a class B felony.