Opinion
NO. 92459-7
06-13-2016
In the MATTER OF the Personal Restraint of: John Edward MINES, Jr., Petitioner.
RULING DENYING REVIEW
¶ 1 John Mines was convicted in 2003 of first degree rape, first degree kidnapping, and second degree assault. This court affirmed the judgment and sentence on direct appeal, and the judgment became final in 2008. See State v. Mines, 163 Wn.2d 387, 179 P.3d 835 (2008). While the appeal had been pending, Mr. Mines filed a personal restraint petition in Division Three of the Court of Appeals, which the court stayed pending the outcome of the appeal. After the appeal became final, Mr. Mines timely filed a supplemental brief in connection with the personal restraint petition arguing that the trial court violated his right to a public trial by examining some prospective jurors in private without conducting the court closure analysis required by State v. Bone-Club, 128 Wn.2d 254, 906 P.2d 325 (1995). The Court of Appeals thereafter stayed consideration of the personal restraint petition several more times pending decisions of this court on the public trial right. The last stay was lifted in January 2015, and a panel judges considered the petition and dismissed it. In re Pers. Restraint of Mines, 190 Wn.App. 554, 364 P.3d 121 (2015). Mr. Mines now seeks this court's discretionary review. RAP 16.14(c).
¶ 2 To obtain this court's review, Mr. Mines must show that the Court of Appeals decision conflicts with a decision of this court or with another Court of Appeals decision, or that he is raising a significant constitutional question or an issue of substantial public interest. RAP 13.4(b); RAP 13.5A(a)(1), (b). He does not make this showing. Although he raised a number of issues below, he now argues only that the Court of Appeals erred in denying his motion to file an amended personal restraint petition asserting for the first time that his appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to raise a public trial claim on direct appeal, and that his former counsel on collateral review was ineffective in not raising the issue of appellate counsel's ineffectiveness in the originally filed personal restraint petition. But the court did not err. As indicated, the judgment and sentence became final in 2008. Although Mr. Mines timely filed a personal restraint petition, he did not move to file an amended petition challenging the effectiveness of appellate counsel and his original counsel on collateral review until September 2013, and he did not file a supplemental brief on this point until February 2015, well beyond the one-year time limit on collateral review. Although amended personal restraint petitions are permitted, they are also subject to the one-year time limit. In re Pers. Restraint of Haghighi, 178 Wn.2d 435, 446, 309 P.3d 459 (2013); RAP 16.8(e).
¶ 3 Mr. Mines urges that he in fact timely filed his amended petition, noting the several times that consideration of his personal restraint petition was stayed. But only consideration of the petition was stayed; the stay orders did not toll the running of the time limit on seeking collateral relief.
¶ 4 The motion for discretionary review is denied.
-------- Notes: There is no dispute at this point that the trial court violated Mr. Mines's constitutional right to a public trial by examining some prospective jurors in private without engaging in the Bone-Club analysis. See State v. Wise, 176 Wn.2d 1, 11-12, 288 P.3d 1113 (2012). In the Court of Appeals Mr. Mines asserted other grounds for exempting his amended petition from the time limit, including a significant change in the law and equitable tolling. But he does not argue these grounds here.