Washington v. Stump (Majority)
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Curtis Stump was convicted of possession of heroin following a bench trial. He filed a notice of appeal, and the trial court appointed a lawyer to represent Stump on the appeal at public expense. That lawyer, however, did not file a brief in support of Stump's appeal. Instead, Stump's appointed lawyer moved to withdraw and filed an "Anders" brief, arguing not that the appeal was meritorious but that it was wholly frivolous. The commissioner of the Court of Appeals granted defense counsel's motion to withdraw, agreed with defense counsel's assessment that the appeal was wholly frivolous, dismissed the appeal, and affirmed Stump's conviction. The State then filed a cost bill, and the commissioner imposed appellate costs against Stump under RAP 14.2. At least one other Division of the Court of Appeals has declined to order costs in this situation. The Supreme Court granted review to resolve the issue of the propriety of imposing costs against an indigent criminal defendant whose appointed lawyer files
an Anders brief and motion to withdraw. "In order to serve the ends of justice," the Supreme Court held that RAP 14.2 did not apply to this unique situation. The appellate court's award of costs was reversed, and no costs were awarded to either party for review by the Supreme Court.
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