In re the Personal Restraint of Carter

¶1 Ernest Carter1 contends in this personal restraint petition that his rights to due process and a fair trial were violated during his 1998 trial on two counts of first degree robbery when he appeared in shackles visible to at least one juror. He also contends that his persistent offender sentence is unlawful because his California assault conviction is not comparable to a Washington “strike” offense. We agree that Carter’s California assault is not a strike offense; therefore, we vacate Carter’s persistent offender sentence and remand for resentencing. We reject the shackling challenge as…