Opinion
No. 97964-2
06-05-2020
STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Francisco Cuahutemoc VAZQUEZ, Petitioner.
ORDER
¶1 At the June 4, 2020, En Banc Conference, the Court considered the petition for review filed in this case. The petition includes a challenge to Francisco Vazquez's sentence on his conviction for attempted first degree robbery while armed with a firearm. At the time he committed the crime, Vazquez was 17 years old, and he asked the sentencing court to impose an exceptional sentence below the standard range based on his youth. The court determined that Vazquez's youth did not justify an exceptional sentence below the standard range and that imposition of the firearm enhancement was required based on the jury's special verdict finding that Vazquez was armed with a firearm at the time he committed his crime.
¶2 In State of Washington v. Zyion Houston-Sconiers, 188 Wn.2d 1, 21, 391 P.3d 409 (2017), this court instructed that in sentencing juvenile offenders tried as adults, courts must consider the mitigating qualities of youth, pursuant to which courts have discretion to impose any sentence below the standard range and depart from otherwise mandatory sentence enhancements, such as the firearm enhancement present here. Id. The Court additionally instructed that consideration of the mitigating qualities of youth includes taking into account the juvenile's immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences; the nature of the juvenile's surrounding environment and family circumstances; the extent of the juvenile's participation in the crime; and the way familial and peer pressure may have affected the youth. Id. at 23. A sentencing court must also consider how youth affected any legal defense, along with any factors suggesting that the juvenile might be successfully rehabilitated. Id.
¶3 Here, there is no evidence in the record that the sentencing court considered Houston-Sconiers or was aware of its discretion to depart from the mandatory sentence enhancement. None of the parties cited or discussed Houston-Sconiers, despite the fact that the decision was published over a year before Vazquez's sentencing hearing. A majority of the Court therefore agreed that the following order be entered.
¶4 IT IS ORDERED:
¶5 That the petition for review is granted only as to the sentencing issue and the case is remanded to the trial court for resentencing to consider and apply this court's decision in Houston-Sconiers.
For the Court
/s/ Stephens, C.J. CHIEF JUSTICE