In Re Knox

532 P.2d 245
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMarch 3, 1975
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 532 P.2d 245 (In Re Knox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Knox, 532 P.2d 245 (Or. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

532 P.2d 245 (1975)

In the matter of KNOX, Ronald LaVerne, Also Known As Ronald LaVerne Downing, a Minor Child.
State of Oregon ex rel. Juvenile Department of Multnomah County, Appellant,
v.
Ronald LaVerne Knox, Aka Ronald LaVerne Downing, Respondent.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted January 16, 1975.
Decided March 3, 1975.

Thomas H. Denney, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief were Lee Johnson, Atty. Gen., and W. Michael Gillette, Sol. Gen., Salem.

Nancy Snow Kaza, Family Law Center — Legal Aid Service, Portland, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent.

Before SCHWAB, C.J., and FOLEY and LEE, JJ.

SCHWAB, Chief Judge.

The issue in this case is whether the prohibition against double jeopardy contained *246 in the United States and Oregon Constitutions[1] applies in juvenile proceedings. The question arose in the following way.

In a petition filed June 12, 1974, in juvenile court, Knox was accused of attempted rape, in violation of ORS 163.375.[2] At the commencement of the hearing on the charge on July 2, 1974, the state moved to amend the petition to charge Knox with sexual abuse in the first degree in violation of ORS 163.425,[3] rather than attempted rape. This motion was objected to by defense counsel and denied by the judge, apparently on the grounds that (1) the state should have filed a petition charging the correct crime earlier since the evidence had not changed since the filing of the petition charging attempted rape, and (2) Knox was being held in custody and the amendment would require the granting of a continuance. The state did not dismiss and refile, but rather presented testimony by both the victim and a witness that Knox had forcibly subjected the victim to sexual contact. No evidence was presented to show that Knox attempted to have sexual intercourse with the victim. At the close of the state's case, counsel for the juvenile moved that the petition be dismissed for failure to prove attempted rape. The state conceded that there was no evidence of attempted rape, but opposed dismissal on the ground that the state had proved that Knox was guilty of sexual abuse, which it argued was a lesser included offense of the crime of attempted rape. The court rejected the state's lesser-included-offense argument and granted the juvenile's motion, saying:

"The petition dated June 12, 1974 alleges attempted rape in the first degree, ORS 163.375. The evidence proved sexual abuse in the first degree, ORS 163.425. The defense motion for a dismissal for failure of proof is allowed."

The state, relying on ORS 419.561(1), appeals from the dismissal of the petition, alleging that the juvenile court erred in denying the state's motion to amend the petition and, in the alternative, that the juvenile court erred in failing to hold that sexual abuse is a lesser included offense in the crime of attempted rape.

ORS 419.561(1) provides in part:

"Any person whose rights or duties are adversely affected by a final order of the juvenile court may appeal therefrom * * *."

This court must interpret this statute in a manner consistent with the United States and Oregon Constitutions. Consequently, we must decide whether the constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy bar an appeal by the state from the dismissal by the juvenile court of a petition in a juvenile proceeding in which the juvenile is charged with an act which would be a *247 crime if committed by an adult due to a failure of proof.

If this were a criminal case, this appeal would clearly be barred by the double jeopardy clause. The dismissal was caused by the state's failure to charge the correct crime in its petition to the juvenile court and the court's refusal to allow the state to amend its petition at the start of the hearing. Even assuming that the court was in error in refusing to allow the state to amend its petition, errors of this type on the part of the state or the judge in a criminal proceeding cannot be the basis of an appeal by the state or a new trial without violating the double jeopardy clause. Price v. Georgia, 398 U.S. 323, 90 S.Ct. 1757, 26 L.Ed.2d 300 (1970); Kepner v. United States, 195 U.S. 100, 24 S.Ct. 797, 49 L.Ed. 114 (1904); United States v. Sanges, 144 U.S. 310, 12 S.Ct. 609, 36 L.Ed. 445 (1892).

Whether the same result is compelled here has not been squarely resolved by either the Oregon courts or the United States Supreme Court.

However, the United States Supreme Court has dealt with some of the procedures a juvenile court is constitutionally required to follow. In In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967), the Supreme Court began with the proposition that:

"* * * [W]hatever may be their precise impact, neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor the Bill of Rights is for adults alone." 387 U.S. at 13, 87 S.Ct. at 1436.

The court went on to discuss the fact that although special considerations are involved in juvenile proceedings which are not present in criminal proceedings, in some ways the two are similar:

"* * * A boy is charged with misconduct. The boy is committed to an institution where he may be restrained of liberty for years. It is of no constitutional consequence — and of limited practical meaning — that the institution to which he is committed is called an Industrial School. The fact of the matter is that, however euphemistic the title, a `receiving home' or an `industrial school' for juveniles is an institution of confinement in which the child is incarcerated for a greater or lesser time * * *.
"In view of this, it would be extraordinary if our Constitution did not require the procedural regularity and the exercise of care implied in the phrase `due process.' Under our Constitution, the condition of being a boy does not justify a kangaroo court * * *." 387 U.S. at 27-8, 87 S.Ct. at 1443.

The court held that while a juvenile proceeding does not have to conform to all of the requirements of a criminal trial the proceeding "must measure up to the essentials of due process and fair treatment." 387 U.S. at 30, 87 S.Ct. at 1445. Specifically, a juvenile must be afforded notice of the charges against him, the right to counsel, the privilege against self-incrimination and the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses. These rights must be afforded despite the fact that these procedures may considerably formalize juvenile proceedings.

In the case of In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Douglas Anthony Holt v. Harold Black, Warden
550 F.2d 1061 (Sixth Circuit, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
532 P.2d 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-knox-orctapp-1975.