In re Brooks

197 Wash.2d 94

480 P.3d 399

In the MATTER OF the Personal Restraint of Carl BROOKS, Petitioner.

No. 97689-9

Supreme Court of Washington.

Argued: November 10, 2020

Filed: February 11, 2021

Gregory Charles Link, Washington Appellate Project, 1511 3rd Ave. Ste. 610, Seattle, WA, 98101-1683, for Petitioner.

Timothy Norman Lang, Holger Kurt Sonntag, Office of the Attorney General, 1125 Washington St. Se, Olympia, WA, 98501-2283, for Respondent.

Nancy Lynn Talner, Antoinette M. Davis, American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, P.O. Box 2728, Seattle, WA, 98111-2728, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Aclu of Washington.

Nicholas Brian Allen, Attorney at Law, 101 Yesler Way Ste. 300, Seattle, WA, 98104-2528, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Columbia Legal Services.

Marsha L. Levick, Riya Saha Shah, Juvenile Law Center, 1800 Jfk Boulevard, Suite 1900 B, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Juvenile Law Center.

David Ventura Montes, Attorney at Law, 710 2nd Ave. Ste. 250, Seattle, WA, 98104-1765, La Rond Baker, King County Department of Public Defense, 710 2nd Ave. Ste. 200, Seattle, WA, 98104-1703, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of King County Department of Public Defense.

Jessica Levin, Melissa R. Lee, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave. Korematsu Center For Law & Equality, Robert S. Chang, Seattle University School of Law, 901 12th Ave., Seattle, WA, 98122-4411, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality.

Mary Ann Scali, Serena E. Holthe, National Juvenile Defender Center, 1350 Connecticut Avenue Nw, Suite 304, Washington, DC, 20036, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of National Juvenile Defender Center.

Mark Bruns Middaugh, Attorney at Law, 600 University St. Ste. 3020, Seattle, WA, 98101-4105, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Alexandria Marie Hohman, The Washington Defender Association, 110 Prefontaine Pl. S. Ste. 610, Seattle, WA, 98104-2626, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Washington Defender Association.

González, C.J. ¶1 Our state and federal constitutions recognize that "children are different." Miller v. Alabama , 567 U.S. 460, 480, 132 S. Ct. 2455, 183 L. Ed. 2d 407 (2012) ; State v. Bassett , 192 Wash.2d 67, 81-82, 428 P.3d 343 (2018) ; State v. Houston-Sconiers , 188 Wash.2d 1, 18, 391 P.3d 409 (2017) ; WASH. CONST. art. I, § 14 ; U.S. CONST. amend. VIII. It is constitutionally significant that children are less culpable than adults and have a greater capacity for change. Miller , 567 U.S. at 472-73, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (citing Graham v. Florida , 560 U.S. 48, 72-74, 130 S. Ct. 2011, 176 L. Ed. 2d 825 (2010) ). As a result, children "warrant special protections in sentencing." Bassett , 192 Wash.2d at 81, 428 P.3d 343. Both this court and the United States Supreme Court have recognized that under a constitutional sentencing system, those who commit crimes as juveniles should rarely be sentenced to die in prison and must be given a meaningful opportunity to obtain release. See Montgomery v. Louisiana , ––– U.S. ––––, 136 S. Ct. 718, 734, 193 L. Ed. 2d 599 (2016) ; Miller , 567 U.S. at 479, 132 S.Ct. 2455 ; Graham , 560 U.S. at 74-75, 130 S.Ct. 2011 ; Bassett , 192 Wash.2d at 90, 428 P.3d 343.

¶2 In the wake of Miller and to codify these constitutional protections, our legislature revised current sentencing law so that those serving lengthy sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles have a way to petition for release. LAWS OF 2014, ch. 130, § 9(3)(b); RCW 9.94A.730. We are asked whether RCW 9.94A.730 applies to the petitioner, Carl Brooks, who was sentenced as a juvenile under an earlier sentencing system. We hold that it does.

BACKGROUND

¶3 In 1978, 17-year-old Brooks pleaded guilty to eight counts of first degree robbery, first degree rape, first degree kidnapping, first degree assault, second degree murder, and first degree burglary, all while armed with a deadly weapon. Over the span of three days, Brooks carjacked, robbed, and raped a woman while her son was present; attempted to rob a couple where gunfire between Brooks and the male victim led to the shooting death of the victim's wife; carjacked and robbed a third woman; and threatened a fourth woman in her home, demanded financial information, and assaulted her. Brooks had prior convictions in both juvenile and adult court. These facts are not in dispute.

¶4 At the time, sentencing in our state was "indeterminate." See ch. 9.95 RCW. Under that indeterminate sentencing system, trial courts sentenced offenders to the maximum amount of time that could be served. But the amount of time the offender would actually serve was largely controlled by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles (parole board) who would set the minimum term, taking into account recommendations by the trial court and prosecutor. RCW 9.95.010, .030, .040. The parole board also had the power to decide when an offender was fit to be released. In this case, the trial court sentenced Brooks to a maximum term of life on each count. The judge ordered five of the life sentences to run concurrently, and the remaining three to run consecutively, effectively sentencing Brooks to four consecutive "blocks" (or groupings) of life sentences.¹ Both the prosecutor and the court recommended that the parole board give Brooks minimum terms of life. Departing from the recommendations slightly, the parole board set minimum terms of 20, 25, 25, and 20 years for the four blocks, for a minimum total of 90 years.

¶5 Not long after Brooks' sentencing, the legislature largely replaced our indeterminate sentencing system with a determinate sentencing system, the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA). See LAWS OF 1981, ch. 137; ch. 9.94A RCW; RCW 9.94A.905 (applying to crimes committed after June 30, 1984). The SRA eliminated parole hearings for most offenders. For those sentenced under the former indeterminate sentencing system who are still incarcerated, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) (the successor to the parole board) was directed to "attempt to make [parole] decisions reasonably consistent" with the SRA. RCW 9.95.009(2).

¶6 Brooks has had a number of parole hearings and has been paroled from his first sentencing block. Parole in this case did not mean release, and he is currently serving the second sentencing block. In 2018, the ISRB denied him parole and added 60 months to his current sentencing block. Brooks has now been in prison for over 42 years. He has approximately 50 years remaining on his sentence until he will be eligible for release.

¶7 While Brooks has been serving his time, the United States Supreme Court held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Miller , 567 U.S. at 465, 132 S.Ct. 2455. In response, our legislature enacted a series of changes to juvenile sentencing known collectively as the Miller -fix statute. LAWS OF 2014, ch. 130. This included a provision authorizing a juvenile convicted of one or more crimes to petition the ISRB for early release after serving at least 20 years of confinement. RCW 9.94A.730(1). If the ISRB grants release, the defendant is subject to Department of Corrections (DOC) community custody for a period of time determined by the ISRB, up to the length of the court-imposed term of incarceration. RCW 9.94A.730(5).

¶8 The ISRB determined that Brooks is "not eligible for the ‘Miller’ fix." Answer to Mot. for Discr. Review, App. 3 (ISRB Decisions and Reasons) at 7. Acting pro se, Brooks filed a personal restraint petition (PRP) arguing that he is unlawfully restrained and must be given a hearing under RCW 9.94A.730 of the Miller -fix statute. The Court of Appeals denied Brooks' PRP, concluding that because Brooks committed his crimes before the SRA was enacted, the "provisions of the SRA, including RCW 9.94A.730, do not apply." Order Dismissing PRP, In re Pers. Restraint of Brooks , No. 79757-3-I, at 2 (Wash. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2019). We granted Brooks' motion for discretionary review and appointed counsel. Amici curiae American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Columbia Legal Services, Juvenile Law Center, King County Department of Public Defense, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, National Juvenile Defender Center, Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Washington Defender Association collectively submitted a brief in support of Brooks.

ANALYSIS

¶9 Brooks bears the burden of showing he is under unlawful restraint.

In re Pers. Restraint of Dyer , 175 Wash.2d 186, 195-96, 283 P.3d 1103 (2012) (citing RAP 16.4 ). Here, that requires him to show he is entitled to a Miller hearing under RCW 9.94A.730. RAP 16.4(c)(6). Questions of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo. State v. Scott , 190 Wash.2d 586, 591, 416 P.3d 1182 (2018) (citing State v. Bunker , 169 Wash.2d 571, 577, 238 P.3d 487 (2010) ).

¶10 When interpreting a statute, we first consider the statute's plain language. In re Adoption of T.A.W. , 186 Wash.2d 828, 840, 383 P.3d 492 (2016) (citing State v. Armendariz , 160 Wash.2d 106, 110, 156 P.3d 201 (2007) ). If a statute's language is plain and subject to only one interpretation, that ends the inquiry because plain language does not require construction. Id. (quoting HomeStreet, Inc. v. Dep't of Revenue , 166 Wash.2d 444, 451, 210 P.3d 297 (2009) ). To determine a statute's plain meaning, we may look to the entirety of the statute in which the provision is found, related statutes, or other provisions within the same act. Id. (citing Dep't of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC , 146 Wash.2d 1, 10, 43 P.3d 4 (2002) ). We also frequently consider the court cases that led the legislature to enact the statute. E.g. , In re Pers. Restraint of Meirhofer , 182 Wash.2d 632, 638, 343 P.3d 731 (2015) ; Lummi Indian Nation v. State , 170 Wash.2d 247, 251, 241 P.3d 1220 (2010).

¶11 The language of RCW 9.94A.730 is plain and unambiguous....