State v. Bernhard

The State of Washington challenges the trial court's power under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA), RCW 9.94A, to sentence Dean Allen Bernhard, a defendant with a prior criminal record, to an inpatient drug treatment facility. According to the State, under a standard SRA sentence, the trial court has no authority to specify the confinement facility. In addition, the State argues that the authority to impose an exceptional sentence refers only to the duration, not to the conditions, of the sentence imposed. We reject both of the State's arguments. Under the SRA and the City and County…