IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 72019-8-
3E
Respondent,
v.
STETSON G. TEDDER, UNPUBLISHED OPINION o
IN5
Appellant. FILED: November 9, 2015
Verellen, J. — Stetson Tedder appeals his convictions for assault of a child in
the second degree and unlawful imprisonment, arguing that the trial court's reasonable
doubt instruction was constitutionally deficient. We affirm.
On January 12, 2013, four-year-old M.T. spent the night at the home of her
paternal grandmother, Corinne Smith. The following morning, when Smith was giving
M.T. a bath, Smith noticed red welts all over M.T.'s body that "looked like chicken pox."1
M.T. told Smith that Tedder, her stepfather, "had shot her with the gun."2 Smith took
M.T. to the home of Smith's sister, Regina Hinton, and told M.T. to show Hinton the
"chicken pox."3 M.T. told Hinton "they weren't chicken pox" and that Tedder "got mad
and shot her with the BB gun" because she woke him up.4
1 Report of Proceedings (RP) (Mar. 25, 2014) at 96.
2 \± at 97.
3 \± at 99.
4 jd at 99, 115-16.
No. 72019-8-1/2
Smith took M.T. to the hospital where M.T. told a forensic nurse examiner that
"she got shot by her daddy with a BB gun."5 M.T. also disclosed that Tedder had tied her
wrists and her ankles with zip ties. The nurse observed abrasions on M.T.'s wrists and
ankles consistent with being tied with zip ties. M.T subsequently told two separate Child
Protective Services social workers and a child interview specialist that Tedder would
shoot her with a BB gun or tie her up with zip ties when she got in trouble. A search of
Tedder's home revealed plastic zip ties and an Airsoft rifle that shot plastic BBs.
The State charged Tedder with one count of assault of a child in the second
degree and one count of unlawful imprisonment. The State alleged that each charge
involved two aggravating factors: domestic violence and deliberate cruelty.
At trial, the court instructed the jury on reasonable doubt using the standard
Washington Pattern Jury Instruction (WPIC) 4.01:
The defendant has entered a plea of not guilty. That plea puts in
issue every element of the crime charged. The State is the plaintiff and
has the burden of proving each element of each crime beyond a
reasonable doubt. The defendant has no burden of proving that a
reasonable doubt exists as to these elements.
A defendant is presumed innocent. This presumption continues
throughout the entire trial unless during your deliberations you find it has
been overcome by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
A reasonable doubt is one for which a reason exists and may
arise from the evidence or lack of evidence. It is such a doubt as would
exist in the mind of a reasonable person after fully, fairly, and carefully
considering all of the evidence or lack of evidence. If, from such
consideration, you have an abiding belief in the truth of the charge, you
are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.[6]
5RP(Mar. 26, 2014) at 41.
611 Washington Practice: Washington Pattern Jury Instructions: Criminal
4.01, at 85 (3d ed. 2008) (emphasis added).
No. 72019-8-1/3
A jury found Tedder guilty of assault of a child in the second degree and unlawful
imprisonment. The jury also found by special verdict that both crimes involved domestic
violence. Tedder appeals.
Tedder claims that that the instruction defining reasonable doubt as a doubt "for
which a reason exists" was constitutionally deficient because it required the jury to
articulate a reason for having a reasonable doubt. Relying on State v. Emery, Tedder
also argues that the instruction resembles the improper "fill in the blank" arguments that
may constitute prosecutorial misconduct.7
Tedder concedes that the trial court's instruction was identical to WPIC 4.01 and
that our Supreme Court has directed trial courts to use WPIC 4.01 to instruct juries on
the burden of proof and the definition of reasonable doubt.8 Our Supreme Court
recently reaffirmed that WPIC 4.01 is "the correct legal instruction on reasonable doubt"
and rejected any suggestion that WPIC 4.01 requires a jury to articulate a reason for
having a reasonable doubt or is akin to an improper "fill in the blank" argument.9 Our
Supreme Court decisions control.10
Affirmed.
WE CONCUR:
Vf^/w^(.\h ^^fefe^
7 174 Wn.2d 741, 760, 278 P.3d 653 (2012).
8 State v. Bennett, 161 Wn.2d 303, 318, 165 P.3d 1241 (2007).
9 State v. Kalebauqh, 183 Wn.2d 578, 586, 355 P.3d 253 (2015).
10 State v. Gore, 101 Wn.2d 481, 486-87, 681 P.2d 227 (1984).
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