Opinion ID: 2519124
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Current Offense

Text: ¶ 3 A person is guilty of first degree unlawful possession of a firearm if the person owns, has in his or her possession, or has in his or her control any firearm after having previously been convicted in this state or elsewhere of any serious offense as defined in this chapter. Former RCW 9.41.040(1)(a) (2003). [4] Residential burglary qualifies as a [c]rime of violence, which is included within the definition of a [s]erious offense for purposes of first degree unlawful possession of a firearm, RCW 9.41.010(11)(a), (12)(a); therefore, by law, at the time of his adjudication for residential burglary, if the statute had been followed, Minor would have been prohibited from possession of firearms. ¶ 4 On January 24, 2005, Minor was charged in juvenile court with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. In count I, the State charged Minor, having previously been adjudicated of residential burglary, with having in his possession a black revolver that he displayed to Joe Palm in the fall of 2004. [5] Clerk's Papers (CP) at 1. In count II, the State charged Minor, having previously been adjudicated of residential burglary, with having in his possession a black .38 revolver that he displayed to Katie Robinson in the spring or summer of 2004. CP at 1-2. Robinson testified that while at a friend's home with a group of people, Minor bragged about robbing a house and showed Robinson a fully loaded .38 revolver and subsequently told her to lie about seeing it and not to get him in trouble. CP at 5-6; Report of Proceedings (RP) at 8-9. ¶ 5 Minor was found guilty of count II, by bench trial on March 24, 2005. CP at 26. The standard range for this offense is a 15 to 36 week commitment to the juvenile rehabilitation administration (JRA) of Department of Social and Health Services. CP at 20. The JRA provided a predisposition diagnostic report dated March 30, 2005, which outlined Minor's criminal, family, substance abuse, and educational histories, and recommended a manifest injustice disposition of 52 to 60 weeks. CP at 29. The trial judge imposed a manifest injustice disposition of 190 to 238 weeks, effectively incarcerating Minor until age 21. [6] ¶ 6 In his appeal to Division Two of the Court of Appeals, Minor argued that at the time of disposition for his residential burglary adjudication, the trial court failed to advise him that he was prohibited from thereafter possessing a firearm and that without such an instruction his adjudication should be vacated. State v. Minor, 133 Wash.App. 636, 642, 137 P.3d 872 (2006). Also, Minor argued that the record did not support the imposition of a manifest injustice disposition, such disposition was excessive, and Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), renders manifest injustice dispositions unconstitutional. ¶ 7 The Court of Appeals recognized that the predicate offense court failed to comply with RCW 9.41.047(1) when it did not check the appropriate paragraph on the order. The court affirmed the adjudication, however, finding that Petitioner failed to demonstrate any reliance on the oversight or prejudice resulting from any affirmative acts on the part of the trial court that misled him into believing he could possess firearms. Minor, 133 Wash.App. at 644-45, 137 P.3d 872.