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Defense urges full resentencing in Anderson appeal, citing inadequate youth inquiry and unlawful firearm enhancement
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Summary
At oral argument in State v. Anderson, defense counsel argued the resentencing court failed to conduct a constitutionally required, individualized inquiry into youth-related mitigating factors and said a doubled firearm enhancement lacked statutory authority; the prosecutor agreed remand is needed but the court did not rule.
The appeals panel heard arguments in State v. Anderson over whether the trial court adequately considered youth-related mitigating factors when resentencing the defendant and whether a firearm enhancement was imposed without statutory authority.
Defense counsel argued that “when Mister Anderson was resentenced pursuant to Monchke, the court had an affirmative duty to conduct an individualized inquiry into the mitigating circumstances of Mister Anderson's youth,” and that the sentencing court’s consideration was “wholly inadequate.” Counsel told the panel the trial judge failed to explain on the record how peer pressure and other youth factors weighed in the decision to depart from the original life-without-parole term.
Amanda Campbell, deputy prosecuting attorney for Snohomish County, told the panel the trial court “had a thorough understanding both of the case law and of its duty to consider the facts of Mr. Anderson's life and of the crime,” and that it explicitly listed and addressed rehabilitation, family circumstances and impetuosity when explaining the sentence reduction.
Both sides acknowledged a separate statutory problem: defense counsel pointed to a 10-year firearm enhancement that, he argued, “was not statutorily authorized,” and asked that the sentence be reversed and the case remanded so the trial court can correct the enhancement and reconsider sentences in light of the correct legal framework. Campbell told the panel the state agrees that the enhancement issue requires remand for resentencing, but she also emphasized published precedent limiting how courts may treat firearm enhancements for youthful offenders.
The panel questioned whether any remand should be limited to correcting the enhancement or instead be for full resentencing so the trial court can apply current case law when reweighing youth-related mitigation and setting any concurrent or consecutive enhancements. Defense counsel asked for a de novo resentencing so the trial court can “go through all of the proper considerations of the mitigating qualities of youth.”
The court did not announce a decision during oral argument. Counsel agreed remand is needed for at least the enhancement error, but differed on the appropriate scope of remand and how courts should guard against resentencings that amount to retribution. The panel will issue its opinion in due course.
What happened next: The argument concluded with the parties’ positions on remand clear at oral argument — the defense seeking a full resentencing with instructions to consider youth factors across counts and enhancements, and the state concurring that remand is required at least to correct the unauthorized firearm enhancement.
