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Keywords

statuteappealtrialstatute of limitations
statutetrialparolestatute of limitationsparole board

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State v. Eppens, 30 Wash.App. 119, 633 P.2d 92

Facts

Edwin Eppens, a truck driver, was injured in a work-related accident in 1971, leading him to file for and receive time loss compensation benefits. Despite claiming total disability, he began working as a commercial fisherman in 1973, using his stepson's fishing license. He continued to submit monthly disability certificates stating he was not working, which led to the prosecution for grand larceny after the Department of Labor and Industries discovered his employment.

In 1971 he was seriously injured in a work-related accident. As a result of his injuries, he was unable to work. He therefore filed a claim for and subsequently began receiving time loss compensation benefits provided by the industrial insurance program administered by the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) under RCW 51.32.

Issue

Whether amending a criminal information by adding counts after the statute of limitations has run impermissibly broadens the charge so that the relation back doctrine may not apply.

The most important issue in this case is one we mentioned but did not need to address in State v. Glover, 25 Wash.App. 58, 61, 604 P.2d 1015 (1979). We now consider the effect of amending a criminal information after the statute of limitations has run to include additional counts of the identical crime alleged to have occurred within the time frame described in a timely filed information.

Rule

An information may be amended after the limitation period has passed as long as the original information was timely filed, but amendments that broaden the charge may not benefit from the relation back doctrine.

An information may be amended after the limitation period has passed so long as the original information was timely filed.

Analysis

The court determined that the amendments to the criminal information after the statute of limitations had run broadened the original charge, thus invalidating certain counts. The court also found sufficient evidence to support the trial court's conclusion that Eppens committed a series of independent crimes rather than a single offense under a common scheme, as each fraudulent claim was treated as a separate transaction.

The amendments to Count I of the first amended information thus broadened the original charge. The relation back doctrine may not be used in such circumstances.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals vacated the convictions on counts II through IV but affirmed the remaining convictions against Eppens.

The convictions on counts II through IV are therefore vacated, and the remaining convictions are affirmed.

Who won?

The State prevailed in the case, as the court upheld the majority of the convictions based on the sufficiency of evidence and the validity of the original charges.

Conviction in itself, even without imposition of sentence, carries an unmistakable onus which has a punitive effect and the presence of multiple convictions is apt to affect the minimum sentence set by the parole board.

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