Opinion ID: 1280331
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Relationships Between Sentences

Text: In their initial briefs, all parties believed the record to indicate the Mason 1 court's intention that the Mason 1 sentence run consecutively to the Pierce and Thurston County sentences, which had not yet been imposed. The petitioner then submitted to this court a more complete copy of the sentencing order showing the record on review was erroneous with respect to the Mason 1 sentence. This certified, newly proffered sentencing order includes the handwriting of the sentencing judge in the right-hand margin which did not appear previously in the record because it apparently was cut off during photocopying. The respondents have not challenged submission of this document. This copy of the sentence does not appear to dictate consecutive sentencing prospectively and reads in pertinent part: If the defendant is sentenced to prison on the Thurston Cou[nty] or any other charges the defendant shall serve this sentence in prison. The sentence herein shall run consecutively with the sentence in an other [sic] cause to which he's been sentenced. (Italics ours.) The above italicized words were handwritten instructions following the printed words on the sentencing form. The key words are with the sentence in an other [ sic ] cause to which he's been sentenced. The Pierce County forgery sentence was ordered to be served concurrent with Mason County and Thurston County convictions. Long had not yet been sentenced in Thurston County when the Pierce County sentence was imposed. The subsequently entered Thurston County sentencing order gave no indication as to whether it was being imposed consecutively to or concurrently with the Mason 1 and Pierce County sentences. Aware that Long committed this group of crimes while on parole for a 10-year sentence for a 1983 felony conviction, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board continued Long on conditional discharge. It did not order that he serve any additional time on the 1983 conviction as a result of the new convictions. The Department of Corrections responded to the diverse sentencing orders from Mason, Pierce and Thurston Counties by setting all the sentences to run consecutively to each other. Long filed a personal restraint petition with the Court of Appeals. His petition was dismissed, and Long filed a motion for reconsideration. That motion was sent by the Court of Appeals to this court to be considered as a motion for discretionary review under RAP 16.14(c) and RAP 13.3(d). On April 23, 1990, the Commissioner of this court partially denied the motion for discretionary review and invited the Department of Corrections and the Thurston, Mason, and Pierce County prosecuting attorneys to file additional responses to Long's petition and to address the proper application of In re Caley, 56 Wn. App. 853, 785 P.2d 1151 (1990), as well as the issue of the purported conflict between the Mason 1 sentence and the Pierce County sentence. Only the Department of Corrections and the Pierce County prosecutor responded to the request for briefing. On July 31, 1990, the Commissioner granted the motion for discretionary review. On September 25, 1990, the Pierce County prosecutor moved to supplement the record on appeal with a new argument as a substitute for an argument Pierce County was withdrawing because it was inconsistent with the prosecutor's plea bargain recommendation. Long opposed the motion. Because the date for oral argument was so near, the clerk passed to the merits Pierce County's motion to submit the new brief, without prejudice to Long's objection. Petitioner has asked the court, if it were to accept the new brief, to decide whether a prosecutor may on appeal argue a position inconsistent with his plea bargain with the defendant. We decline to accept the new Pierce County supplemental brief for review and therefore need not address petitioner's challenge to it on the merits. On October 23, 1990, counsel for petitioner raised the issue discussed above, that the record on review contained an incomplete, misleading copy of the Mason 1 sentence. On October 29, 1990, petitioner submitted the above discussed certified, complete copy of this Mason 1 sentence. On November 2, 1990, the Department of Corrections requested to withdraw a large part of its argument and notified the clerk it would not present any oral argument to the court on the hearing date scheduled for November 14, 1990. The clerk passed this request to the merits as well.