Brown v. Zenon

891 P.2d 666, 133 Or. App. 291, 1995 Ore. App. LEXIS 433
Court of Appeals of Oregon·Decided March 8, 1995·No. 91C-11325; CA A80790·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

*293 RIGGS, J.

The state appeals from a judgment granting post-conviction relief. ORS 138.650. The post-conviction court decided that the juvenile court had exclusive original jurisdiction over this case and, therefore, set aside petitioner’s convictions and remanded the case to juvenile court. We reverse and remand.

The facts are undisputed. Petitioner was born December 19,1969. On November 7,1987, he and his brother stole a pick-up truck. At the time the theft occurred, petitioner was on parole from a juvenile detention facility and living in Junction City, but had gone to his mother’s home in Coos Bay for the weekend.

Shortly after the truck and its contents were stolen, its owner reported the crime to the police. On December 8, 1987, petitioner’s mother’s boyfriend called the Coos County sheriffs office and reported that he had found a shotgun in petitioner’s brother’s room. The serial number on that gun matched the serial number of the gun reported as stolen by the truck owner. On December 10,1987, petitioner’s brother confessed to the crime and implicated petitioner. Petitioner was returned to the juvenile facility on December 11, 1987, because of his suspected involvement in the theft of the pickup. On December 19, 1987, petitioner’s 18th birthday, an Oregon state trooper contacted petitioner, and petitioner gave a statement about his participation in the theft of the pick-up. The report of that statement was not completed until December 21, 1987, and the prosecutor did not receive the report until early January, 1988. Even though the district attorney knew, before petitioner’s 18th birthday, that plaintiffs brother had implicated plaintiff, he did not charge petitioner until early January, 1988, because he did not believe that he had “sufficient evidence to support filing criminal charges.”

Petitioner was indicted on January 29, 1988, pled guilty to theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in adult court and was sentenced on June 7, 1988. Petitioner then filed this petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he was in custody before his 18th birthday and that the prosecutor intentionally delayed filing charges in order to *294 avoid juvenile court jurisdiction. The post-conviction court found that the claim of prosecutorial misconduct was not supported by the evidence. However, the court also found that

“the evidence is clear that the petitioner was in the custody of the juvenile authorities prior to his 18th birthday and that the pending new charges * * * were part of the basis therefor. Petitioner was interviewed about these matters while in custody at MacLaren on prior juvenile court adjudications.”

For that reason, the post-conviction court concluded that the juvenile court had exclusive original jurisdiction, set aside the circuit court convictions and remanded the case to juvenile court.

The state assigns error to the court’s conclusion that the juvenile court had exclusive jurisdiction over this case. Our review is limited to errors of law appearing in the record. ORS 138.220. The findings of fact of the post-conviction court are binding on appeal if there is evidence to support them. Ball v. Gladden, 250 Or 485, 443 P2d 621 (1968).

The issue in this case is when juvenile court jurisdiction attached. If petitioner can show that the court lacked jurisdiction to impose the judgment rendered on his conviction, he is entitled to post-conviction relief. ORS 138.620(2); ORS 138.530(l)(b).

ORS 419C.094, 1 the only statute addressing when juvenile court jurisdiction attaches in delinquency proceedings, provides:

“[T]he jurisdiction of the juvenile court of the county in which a child is taken into protective custody shall attach from the time the child is taken into custody.”

*295 Our earlier cases, specifically State v. Richmond, 31 Or App 553, 570 P2d 1014 (1977), and State v. Watchman, 20 Or App 709, 533 P2d 361, rev den (1975), held, without reference to the statute, that jurisdiction attached when judicial proceedings were initiated. The Supreme Court, in State v. Scurlock, 286 Or 277, 593 P2d 1159 (1979), relied on the statute and held that jurisdiction attached when a child was taken into protective custody.

Thus, jurisdiction attaches when a child is taken into protective custody. ORS 419B.157; ORS 419C.094. If a child is not taken into protective custody, jurisdiction attaches when other steps are taken to initiate judicial proceedings. See Delaney v. State of Oregon, 58 Or App 442, 445, 648 P2d 1302 (1982); State v. Richmond, supra; State v. Watchman, supra.

Petitioner does not challenge the fact that the first step to initiate judicial proceedings other than custody, i.e., the filing of an indictment, was not taken until after his 18th birthday. Thus, the only question on appeal is whether petitioner was in protective custody before he turned 18. The post-conviction court found that he was in custody before he turned 18, but did not clarify whether he was in protective custody or some other form of custody and, thus, we cannot tell whether juvenile court jurisdiction had attached.

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Brown v. Zenon, 891 P.2d 666, 133 Or. App. 291, 1995 Ore. App. LEXIS 433 (Or. Ct. App. 1995).

891 P.2d 666 (Brown v. Zenon) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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