An aggravating circumstance is a fact, condition, or event which, when combined with a specific crime under Washington law, permits a judge or jury to impose a harsher sentence on a convicted individual than is otherwise permitted by statute. One such aggravating circumstance is committing a crime shortly after being released from incarceration.
Of course, in order to apply this particular aggravating circumstance, it must be proven in court that an individual was in fact released from jail or prison shortly before a crime was committed. There are many means by which this aggravating circumstance can be proven – but one way which is not acceptable under the law is by using hearsay evidence. The term hearsay is loosely defined as evidence which is not substantiated by objective documentation or statements made in court.
This issue was addressed in a Washington Supreme Court decision released on Friday. In State v. Griffin, a defendant was convicted in a bench trial of perpetrating a residential burglary in October of 2008. However, the prosecution tried to introduce the aggravating circumstance using only the testimony of a sergeant in the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Department. At sentencing, the defense attorney objected to the sergeant’s testimony, claiming that it was hearsay evidence. But the objection was overruled, and the defendant eventually received a 30-month sentence of confinement based on the aggravating circumstance (the standard sentence for this crime is between 15 and 20 months).
The defendant appealed the sentence to a county superior court. That court ruled that the evidence in question was indeed hearsay; but the court allowed the sentence to stand, saying that hearsay rules didn’t apply to that particular type of post-verdict sentencing. The superior court’s decision was appealed to the state supreme court, who disagreed with the lower court’s assertion that the hearsay evidence was admissible. The high court reversed the decision and sent the case back to the original court for re-sentencing.
Rule of Griffin – Hearsay is not allowed to prove aggravating circumstances at post-trial sentencing.
State of Washington v. James L. Griffin, Washington Supreme Court, No. 84554-9, January 5, 2012