Hinton v. Hill

117 P.3d 1066, 201 Or. App. 131
Court of Appeals of Oregon·Decided August 3, 2005·No. 01C10035; A121726·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

BREWER, C. J.

In our former opinion in this case, we held that the post-conviction court erred by granting petitioner post-conviction relief without vacating her convictions. Hinton v. Hill, 197 Or App 238, 105 P3d 923 (2005). We concluded that, under ORS 138.530(l)(a), post-conviction relief was available to petitioner only if her convictions were void and, therefore, relief could not be granted without vacating the convictions. The state has petitioned for reconsideration, arguing that our conclusion is inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Shipman v. Gladden, 253 Or 192, 453 P2d 921 (1969). We disagree that Shipman is at odds with our conclusion. This case is controlled by Hartzog v. Keeney, 304 Or 57, 64, 742 P2d 600 (1987), a case on which we relied in our former opinion. Accordingly, we grant reconsideration, clarify our former opinion in light of the state’s argument, and adhere to that opinion as clarified.

This case, Hartzog, and Shipman all interpreted ORS 138.530(l)(a), which provides:

“(1) Post-conviction relief pursuant to ORS 138.510 to 138.680 shall be granted by the court when one or more of the following grounds is established by the petitioner:
“(a) A substantial denial in the proceedings resulting in petitioner’s conviction, or in the appellate review thereof, of petitioner’s rights under the Constitution of the United States, or under the Constitution of the State of Oregon, or both, and which denial rendered the conviction void.”

(Emphasis added.)

Here, petitioner sought relief under that statute on the ground that her trial counsel was inadequate in failing to inform her of the maximum possible sentence that she could receive under her plea agreements. Her counsel advised her that the maximum term of imprisonment that the court could impose was 226 months. However, the trial court sentenced her to a total of 366 months’ imprisonment. The post-conviction court granted petitioner relief by vacating her sentences and remanding the case; the court refused to vacate her convictions. The court indicated that, on remand, petitioner’s convictions should be vacated only if the state wished [134] to pursue a sentence of more than 226 months’ imprisonment. Otherwise, the court stated, “[T]he trial court may impose sentence accordingly.” We reversed on the ground that the relief ordered by the post-conviction court was not the appropriate relief.

We noted that “post-conviction relief is not available under [ORS 138.530(l)(a)] unless the denial of constitutional rights is so substantial as to void the convictions.” Hinton, 197 Or App at 243 (emphasis in original). We reasoned that, because relief was available only if petitioner’s convictions were void, it followed that relief could not be granted without vacating the convictions. In reaching that conclusion, we relied on Hartzog.

In Hartzog, the Supreme Court held that post-conviction relief is not available under ORS 138.530(l)(a) unless the petitioner’s conviction is void. In that case, the petitioner argued that his trial counsel was inadequate in failing to advise him that, under his guilty plea, he could receive a minimum 10-year sentence before being eligible for parole or work release. He did, in fact, receive a minimum sentence. The Supreme Court agreed that the petitioner’s counsel was inadequate, but that did not end its inquiry. Interpreting ORS 138.530(l)(a), the court held that “[a] substantial denial in the proceedings, resulting in conviction, of a petitioner’s constitutional rights is not enough to afford post-conviction relief, however, for ORS 138.530(l)(a) also requires that the denial must render the conviction void.” Hartzog, 304 Or at 64. The court then held that the denial of the petitioner’s rights rendered his conviction void and affirmed the trial court’s order vacating it.

The court reiterated that interpretation of ORS 138.530(l)(a) in Moen v. Peterson, 312 Or 503, 824 P2d 404 (1991). In Moen, the court stated that ORS 138.530(1)(a) “directs the court to grant post-conviction relief only when ‘a substantial denial’ of constitutional rights occurred in the proceedings resulting in petitioner’s conviction, which renders the conviction void.” Id. at 513 (emphasis added). As in Hartzog, the court decided that the appropriate relief was to vacate the void convictions.

In Shipman, the Supreme Court held that post-conviction relief was available under ORS 138.530(l)(a) even [135] though the petitioner’s conviction was not void. In that case, the petitioner asserted that she had been denied adequate assistance of trial counsel because her counsel failed to timely file a notice of appeal. The post-conviction court entered an order granting the petitioner a delayed appeal. The Supreme Corut affirmed. It held that (1) counsel’s failure to file a notice of appeal violated petitioner’s rights under the United States Constitution, (2) that violation was subject to “appellate review” under ORS 138.530(l)(a), and (3) the relief granted was appropriate. In reaching the third conclusion, the Supreme Court stated that it was “satisfied that unless appropriate relief is granted the denial of [the] petitioner’s rights that occurred in this case will render his conviction void.” Shipman, 253 Or at 203. The court decided that the appropriate relief in that case was not to vacate the conviction but rather to grant a delayed appeal.

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Hinton v. Hill, 117 P.3d 1066, 201 Or. App. 131 (Or. Ct. App. 2005).

117 P.3d 1066 (Hinton v. Hill) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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