The other two opinions: a late petition and blackberry brambles
In re PRP of Steven Clark, No. 81522-4. Steven Clark agreed to plead guilty to two counts of second degree robbery in 1998 in exchange for the state dropping a third robbery charge (all involving bank robberies). Clark was sentenced to 25 months in prison. His plea agreement included at least one year in community placement after his release. Yet shortly after Clark's sentencing it was discovered that he did not meet the necessary statutory criteria for community placement and his sentence was amended to remove it.
Clark was released in 1999 and quickly robbed two more banks. He was convicted and sentenced as a "persistent offender" to life imprisonment. Clark challenges his 1998 plea bargain because he was wrongly informed that his sentence would include community placement. The Court does not reach that issue because it determines that Clark's petition is untimely. Justice Fairhurst, joined by seven other justices, determines that the one-year statute of limitations applies and so Clark's filing comes eight years too late. The test is whether the sentence is invalid on its face and the Court determines that Clark's sentence was not, even though there was confusion about his plea agreement.
Justice Sanders strongly dissents. He would find Clark's petition timely and indicates that he would hold that Clark could withdraw his earlier plea. (argument, briefs)
Merriman, et ux. v. Cokeley, et ux., No. 83700-7. The Court of Appeals had overturned a trial court's determination in a quiet title action that three boundary markers in an area overgrown with blackberries and ivy could not constitute a "clear and well-defined boundary." Here the Supreme Court in a per curiam opinion reverses the Court of Appeals and holds that the evidence supports the trial court's finding. (briefs)
