Court Opinion

ID: 9547245
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:44:14.526474+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:17:31.767006
License: Public Domain

Hale, C.J.
(concurring specially) — I concur in the result and ratio deciden di of this opinion in all respects except for that part of it which seems to give precedential force to the task force commentary supporting CrR 7.7. See majdfity opinion, page 844. That commentary, as incorporated into the opinion, appears to give constitutional dimension to a phenomenon in the law variously described as post-conviction review, or post-conviction remedy, or post-conviction relief, and seems to endow such remedies with a quality not warranted, I think, by the constitutions. The basic fundamental and constitutional remedy or relief, as the case may be, for one convicted of a crime by a judge or jury serving in a constitutionally established court is and remains the process of appeal, or executive clemency, or both. When these two constitutional remedies have been exhausted, the case should end; any further relief ought to be limited to such relief as may be granted by the legislature in laws of general application.
The need for CrR 7.7 thus arises not from any organic defect in our judicial system but because the writ of habeas corpus has, as I see it, been allowed by a process of judicial contortion to deteriorate into a writ of appeal. Despite previous judicial protestations that habeas corpus is no substitute for appeal, it has become exactly, that and one most frequently, pursued after all remedies by appeal, probation, parole and executive clemency have been utilized. By habéas corpus one is insured of a superconstitutional procedure enabling him to institute appeal Upon appeal and review upon review in forum after forum ad infinitum.
CrR 7.7 has been adopted to bring some order to this chaotic condition. CrR 7.7 appears neither to trespass on the substantive law of this jurisdiction nor to exceed the limited rule-making power of this court and currently operates, I think, to make the best of a presently bad situation developed in an era of rámpánt'abúse of habeas corpus.