Opinion ID: 2584286
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Due Process Violations

Text: 1. Whether Charging Documents Violated Elmore's Due Process Rights. ¶ 82 The State charged Elmore with two aggravating circumstances: (1) the murder was committed to conceal a crime, and (2) the murder was committed in the course of, in furtherance of, and in immediate flight from the crime of rape. In his direct appeal Elmore claimed that, because the basis for the concealment aggravator was not specified, he was denied his constitutional rights pursuant to the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. He claims that he was misled by the charging document into believing that the crime he was allegedly concealing was Kristy's rape preceding her murder. He claims that if his attorney had known that the crime the State believed he was concealing was molesting Kristy when she was five, his attorney would have been able to give him different advice regarding his decision to plead guilty. The State argues that this issue was resolved on direct appeal and should not be reconsidered. ¶ 83 The constitution requires the State to inform the accused clearly of the nature of the criminal charge with sufficient specificity that he can prepare an adequate defense. Cole v. Arkansas, 333 U.S. 196, 68 S.Ct. 514, 92 L.Ed. 644 (1948). A guilty plea cannot be truly voluntary unless the defendant possesses an understanding of the law in relation to the facts. McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 466, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 22 L.Ed.2d 418 (1969). Elmore claims that the information in this case failed to inform him as to the crime he was allegedly concealing. ¶ 84 Elmore recognizes that this issue was resolved on direct appeal. However, he urges that the court's decision on direct appeal conflicts with Supreme Court decisions in Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999), and Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624, 111 S.Ct. 2491, 115 L.Ed.2d 555 (1991). In Jones the Supreme Court held that any fact (other than prior conviction) that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jones, 526 U.S. at 243 n. 6, 119 S.Ct. 1215. In Schad, 501 U.S. at 633, 111 S.Ct. 2491, the Court said that nothing in our history suggests that the Due Process Clause would permit a State to convict anyone under a charge of `Crime' so generic that any combination of jury findings of embezzlement, reckless driving, murder, burglary, tax evasion, or littering, for example, would suffice for conviction. Elmore says that the State's failure to make clear that the crime he was concealing was molesting Kristy when she was five violates the Court's pronouncements in Jones and Schad. ¶ 85 The aggravating circumstance at issue, concealment of a crime, is set forth in RCW 10.95.020(9). This court has rejected due process challenges to this statutory aggravator. In State v. Jeffries, 105 Wash.2d 398, 717 P.2d 722, cert. denied, 479 U.S. 922, 107 S.Ct. 328, 93 L.Ed.2d 301 (1986), this court held that due process does not require that the specific crime be charged and included in the jury instructions. Id. at 419-20, 717 P.2d 722. See also State v. Gentry, 125 Wash.2d 570, 602-03, 888 P.2d 1105, cert. denied, 516 U.S. 843, 116 S.Ct. 131, 133 L.Ed.2d 79 (1995) (predicate crime need not be identified). ¶ 86 Neither Jones or Schad dictates a different result. The exact crime is not an element of the aggravating circumstance under the statute. Additionally, the jury here was required to determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, whether the murder was committed to conceal a crime. Thus, Elmore did receive the protections dictated by Jones and Schad. Elmore presents no convincing reason for this court to reconsider its decision. 2. Whether Unlimited Jury Access to a Tape Recorder During Deliberations Violated Due Process. ¶ 87 Elmore claims that counsel's failure to object to redaction of his statements of remorse from his taped confession that was given to the jury to play in the jury room fell below the objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. The redacted portion of the statement was as follows: We barely tolerated each other. . . . Which, again, is probably my fault. After all this was said and done, then I started to realize where I had made a lot of mistakes with Kristy.' Cause the only time I ever talked to Kristy was to yell at her for something she didn't do that she was supposed to do. I didn't ever spend any time with Kristy. Maybe this is because of the first time, I felt so guilty about it. 15 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (Mar. 7, 1996) at 2392 (capitalization omitted). ¶ 88 Mr. Komorowski says in his affidavit that he would have objected to a redacted confession tape if he had been aware that the jury would have unlimited access to Elmore's confession in the jury room. ¶ 89 Following the jury's decision in this case, Elmore moved for a new sentencing hearing based on the jury's unsupervised access to a recording device on which to listen to the redacted confession. The motion was denied, and Elmore assigned error to that ruling on direct appeal, arguing that the jury placed undue emphasis on the tapes. This court rejected Elmore's argument, stating that the confession was the case for both sidesit both described the crime and reflected Elmore's decision to come back and take responsibility. Elmore, 139 Wash.2d at 297, 985 P.2d 289. Although Elmore now presents this issue as one of ineffective assistance of counsel, it is essentially the same argument that he made on direct appeal. He has failed to demonstrate that this court's decision on direct appeal was erroneous or harmful. We have not been presented with a reason to reconsider this issue.