In re Pers. Restraint of Carrier
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Petitioner Harry Carrier filed an untimely personal restraint petition asserting that his mandatory life sentence under the "two strikes" provision of the Persistent Offender Accountability Act (POAA) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA) was invalid. He contended the trial court erroneously counted a dismissed conviction from 1981 as one of the strikes. The Commissioner denied review because Petitioner's judgment and sentence did not
itself indicate that the 1981 conviction was dismissed. The Supreme Court granted Petitioner's motion to modify and accepted review. Upon review, the Court concluded that the dismissal order attached as an exhibit to Petitioner's personal restraint petition could be considered in determining whether the judgment and sentence is valid on its face. In light of the dismissal order, the Court held that Petitioner's life sentence was invalid because a court may not include a dismissed conviction in a defendant's criminal history as a POAA strike offense.
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