Attorneys' Fees

 

 

 

When prisoner Derek Gronquist was sanctioned loss of early release credits for allegedly assaulting a correctional officer, he filed a personal restraint petition in the Washington Supreme Court to challenge it.  Personal Restraint of Gronquist, No. 87666-5 (Nov. 14, 2013).  The court’s commissioner dismissed the petition, but awarded the State attorneys’ fees of $200 under RCW 10.73.160(2).  The court found that a challenge to the department’s administrative disciplinary action falls outside the plain statutory limitation on allowable appellate costs.  Id.; See State v. Ashby, 141 Wn. App. 549, 556-57, 170 P.3d 596 (2007) (no costs allowed to State in action claiming department failed to credit inmate with early release time earned in jail).  This is because the costs incurred defending the collateral attack did not directly relate to the conviction or sentence.  Gronquist, No. 87666-5.