State v Herrick

9-20-2011 Washington:

State v. Herrick

In the 1980s, Herrick was convicted of three counts of indecent liberties, which required him to register as a sex offender under former RCW 9A.44.130. Herrick registered several times in King County prior to 2000.

On June 13, 2000, Herrick registered as a sex offender with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. At the time, he registered his address as "3315 164th Ave. E, Sumner, Pierce County, Washington." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 10. Herrick also received a copy of the statutory requirements for registration and signed a form stating that he understood Washington State's sex offender registration laws. Herrick never again registered as a sex offender with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

In 2004, Herrick moved from Pierce County to King County to live with his then-fiancé, Priscilla Hennemann. Herrick's driver's license, issued on March 2, 2006, listed his address as "1814 27th Street Southeast, Auburn, Washington." Report of Proceedings at 50.

On December 21, 2009, Pierce County Sheriff's Department Detective Keith Barnes conducted a sex offender verification check at Herrick's registered address in Sumner, Washington. Barnes discovered that Herrick no longer resided at his listed Sumner address.

On January 20, 2010, the King County Sheriff's Department notified the Pierce County Sheriff's Department that Herrick had moved from Sumner to Auburn. The same day, the State charged Herrick with failing to register as a sex offender in violation of former RCW 9A.44.130.

Facts to notice: 1) That a form signed in 2000 was still used by the state in 2011; 2) That there is no question that, the form clearly explained what the law said in 2000 versus 2011 when he was charged. 3) The state uses the statute in court and there is no proof, what the statute said was on the form signed in 2000. Generally those forms merely state something like "understands the law" and registrants are never given a copy of the law itself, but the court uses that law in court.

Following a bench trial, a trial court convicted James Herrick of failure to register as a sex offender under former RCW 9A.44.130 (2006). On appeal, Herrick challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court's finding that he knowingly failed to register. We affirm.