Court Opinion

ID: 9954517
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-26 15:21:04.482779+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:12:57.700648
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                     MARCH 26, 2024
                                                               In the Office of the Clerk of Court
                                                              WA State Court of Appeals Division III

           IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
                              DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON,                         )
                                             )        No. 39150-7-III
                    Respondent,              )
                                             )
      v.                                     )
                                             )
TIMOTHY EDWARD NATION,                       )        UNPUBLISHED OPINION
                                             )
                    Appellant.               )
      COONEY, J. — In August 2022, Timothy Nation was convicted of custodial assault

and, among other sanctions, was ordered to pay a $500 victim penalty assessment (VPA).

Because Mr. Nation was found indigent, we remand for the trial court to strike the VPA.

                                   BACKGROUND

      The facts underlying Mr. Nation’s conviction are largely irrelevant to this appeal.

In short, Mr. Nation was charged with custodial assault following an incident that
No. 39150-7-III
State v. Nation

occurred in the Benton County Jail. At the conclusion of a two-day trial, Mr. Nation was

convicted and later sentenced to three months of incarceration and ordered to pay a $500

VPA. During sentencing, defense counsel’s assertion of Mr. Nation’s struggles with

homelessness went undisputed.

      Mr. Nation appeals the $500 VPA.

                                       ANALYSIS

      Formerly, RCW 7.68.035(1)(a) (2018) required the imposition of a VPA on any

adult found guilty of a crime in superior court. Effective July 1, 2023, RCW 7.68.035

was amended to prohibit a trial court from imposing a VPA on a defendant found

indigent as defined in RCW 10.01.160(3). See LAWS OF 2023, ch. 449, §§ 1, 4.

Amendments to statutes that impose costs upon convictions apply prospectively to cases

pending on appeal. See State v. Ramirez, 191 Wn.2d 732, 748-49, 426 P.3d 714 (2018).

      Because Mr. Nation’s case is pending on direct appeal, the amendment to

RCW 7.68.035 applies. While the trial court did not explicitly find Mr. Nation indigent,

defense counsel’s assertion of Mr. Nation’s history of homelessness was undisputed.

Further, Mr. Nation was found to be indigent for purposes of this appeal, with the order

acknowledging that his indigency status had not changed since his trial.

                                            2
No. 39150-7-III
State v. Nation

       We remand for the trial court to strike the $500 VPA from Mr. Nation’s judgment

and sentence.

       A majority of the panel has determined this opinion will not be printed in the

Washington Appellate Reports, but it will be filed for public record pursuant to

RCW 2.06.040.

                                                 Cooney, J.

WE CONCUR:

Fearing, C.J.

Staab, J.

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