Facts: As a minor, petitioner R.P.H. was convicted of the rape of a child. The trial court subsequently sentenced him to a suspended term of confinement, one year of community supervision, and sexual deviancy treatment and imposed various other requirements, including a requirement that he register as a sex offender and a requirement that he not use or possess a weapon of any kind. After R.P.H. successfully completed treatment and fulfilled the other conditions of his sentence, he petitioned the Superior Court for King County to remove the registration requirement and to restore his right to possess a firearm. The superior court granted the motion to remove the registration requirement but denied the motion to restore R.PH.’s right to possess a firearm. R.P.H. appealed the superior court’s ruling, asserting that his right to possess a firearm should have been restored automatically pursuant to Washington Revised Code §9.41.040(3), which provides that no person shall be precluded from possessing a firearm if they have been the subject of a certificate of rehabilitation. The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the superior court’s decision. R.P.H. appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Should R.P.H.’s right to possess a firearm have been automatically restored pursuant to §9.41.040(3) after the superior court removed the requirement that he register as a sex offender?
Conclusion: Justice Alexander’s opinion for the Court reversed the Washington Court of Appeals and restored R.PH.’s right to possess a firearm, concluding that the superior court’s order removing the requirement that he register as a sex offender was the equivalent of a certificate of rehabilitation and that his right to possess a firearm should therefore have been restored automatically pursuant to §9.41.040(3).
Docket No. 82557-2 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 60552-6)
Petitioner: R.P.H.
(Counsel: Neil Martin Fox)
Respondent: State of Washington
(Counsel: Dennis John McCurdy)
Briefs:
- Answer
- Appellant Brief
- Petition for Review
- Reply
- Respondent Brief
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 1-3-11
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 4-24-09
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 5-10-11
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 5-11-11
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 5-6-11
- Statement of Additional Authority Dated 7-1-10
- Supplemental Brief of Petitioner
- Supplemental Brief of Respondent
- Supplemental Brief of Respondent (FILED 10-11)
- Supplemental Reply of Appellant
Argument: Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:30pm
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Prevailing Party: R.P.H. (Petitioner)
Vote: 7-2
Citation: Pending
Madsen
(Dissent)
Johnson
Alexander
(Majority)
Chambers
Owens
Fairhurst
Johnson
Stephens
Wiggins
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.