Washington DOSA Revocation Requires Credit for Community Custody Time
Washington DOSA Revocation Requires Credit for Community Custody Time
by Mark Wilson
On November 26, 2013, the Washington State Court of Appeals held that when a “drug offender sentencing alternative” (DOSA) is revoked, the court must award credit for time the offender served in community custody.
In June 2012, Gabriel Lee Bercier pleaded guilty to a methamphetamine possession charge. He was sentenced to a 24-month community custody term in the form of a residential treatment-based DOSA sentence.
When Bercier failed to comply with the residential treatment conditions, the sentencing court revoked his DOSA sentence in January 2013 and imposed a prison term pursuant to RCW 9.94A.660(7)(c). The court specifically denied Bercier credit for time served in community custody in violation of RCW 9.94A.660(7)(d), which mandates credit for “any time previously served” – including community custody in the form of a residential treatment-based DOSA sentence.
After unsuccessfully moving the sentencing court for a modified judgment, the Department of Corrections petitioned the Washington Court of Appeals for post-sentence review under RCW 9.94A.585(7).
The appellate court rejected the state’s argument that RCW 9.94A.660(7)(d) provides “credit solely for jail or prison time served.” Rather, the statute’s “plain language provides credit for community custody served in the form of a residential treatment-based DOSA sentence.”
As such, the Court of Appeals held “the sentencing court erred by prohibiting Mr. Bercier from receiving credit for community custody time served,” and remanded with instructions to give him “credit for community custody served in the form of a residential treatment-based DOSA sentence.” See: Department of Corrections v. Bercier, 178 Wn.App. 148, 313 P.3d 491 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).
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Related legal case
Department of Corrections v. Bercier
| Year | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 178 Wn.App. 148, 313 P.3d 491 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013) |
| Level | State Court of Appeals |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |