State v. Barrett

958 P.2d 215, 153 Or. App. 621, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 581
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedApril 29, 1998
Docket9402002CR; CA A91378
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 958 P.2d 215 (State v. Barrett) 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
State v. Barrett, 958 P.2d 215, 153 Or. App. 621, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 581 (Or. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

[623]*623DEITS, C. J.

Defendant and two accomplices robbed a market in Klamath County. Diming the robbery, defendant pushed the owner of the store into a back room, then shot her when she returned to the outer portion of the store. Defendant was charged with three counts of aggravated murder (counts one through three), ORS 163.095, one count of murder (count four), ORS 163.115, and robbery in the first degree (count five), ORS 164.415. He pleaded no contest to all of the charges. Each count of the aggravated murder charges included the same victim but was based on a different underlying felony. The felonies underlying the aggravated murder convictions were: (1) first-degree robbery (count one); (2) second-degree kidnaping (count two); and (3) murder committed in an effort to conceal the identity of the perpetrator of a crime (count three).

The trial court merged the murder conviction with the conviction on the third count of aggravated felony murder and merged the independent robbery conviction with the first count of aggravated felony murder. The court then sentenced defendant to a life sentence with a 30-year minimum on count one, a life sentence with a 30-year minimum on count two to be served consecutive to count one, and a life sentence with a 30-year minimum on count three to run concurrent with count one. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in not merging the three aggravated murder convictions and by imposing the consecutive sentences. We affirm.

ORS 161.062(1) provides that “[w]hen the same conduct or criminal episode violates two or more statutory provisions and each provision requires proof of an element that the others do not, there are as many separately punishable offenses as there are separate statutory violations.” In State v. Crotsley, 308 Or 272, 278, 779 P2d 600 (1989), the Supreme Court held that in order for ORS 161.062(1) to be applicable to defendant’s conduct, the following questions must be answered in the affirmative:

“(1) Did defendant engage in acts that are ‘the same conduct or criminal episode,’ (2) did defendant’s acts violate two or [624]*624more ‘statutory provisions/ and (3) does each statutory ‘provision’ require ‘proof of an element that the others do not.’ ”

The state asserts that this test was satisfied. It acknowledges that, while each count of felony murder required proof that defendant intentionally caused the death of the victim, each count also required proof of an element not required by the others. Count 1 required proof that defendant killed the victim “in the course and in furtherance of’ first-degree robbery. Count 2 required proof that defendant killed the victim “in the course of and in furtherance of “ second-degree kidnaping, and count 3 required proof that defendant killed the victim “in an effort to conceal the identity of a perpetrator” of the robbery.

Defendant argues, relying on the Supreme Court’s decisions in Crotsley and State v. Kizer, 308 Or 238, 779 P2d 604 (1989), that in order to constitute a separate statutory provision for purposes of ORS 161.062(1) the statutory sections must address separate legislative concerns. Defendant points out that in Kizer, the Supreme Court concluded that the legislature was addressing the same legislative concern in each of the two subsections setting forth how forgery could be proven, ORS 165.007,1 and, therefore, only one conviction could be entered. 308 Or at 243. The court noted that the DUII statute, ORS 813.010,2 was a similarly written statute and, accordingly, only one DUII conviction could be entered, even if alternate means of committing DUII are proven. Id.

[625]*625In defendant’s view, the three charges here did not arise from three different crimes but rather from three different theories for proving the same crime. Defendant argues that, simply because the legislature provided for a number of ways of proving aggravated murder, it does not follow that the legislature intended to create distinct and separate crimes for each underlying felony in circumstances such as these where there is only one victim. Defendant contends that the aggravated murder statute is similar to the forgery statute in that under those statutes each theory of proving the respective crimes addresses the same legislative concern, and that under the aggravated murder statute the legislative concern addressed is engaging in criminal felony behavior that is likely to result in the death of someone. Consequently, in defendant’s view, the statutory provisions here are not separate statutory provisions for purposes of ORS 161.062(1) and, therefore, only one aggravated murder conviction may be entered.

We have not addressed the specific argument that defendant makes here; namely, whether ORS 163.095 addresses a single legislative concern for purposes of ORS 161.062(1) or whether the various felonies listed by reference in ORS 163.095(l)(d) identify distinct and separate legislative concerns. We indirectly answered that question in our refusal to merge felony murder convictions that were based on different underlying felonies, even though the convictions involved the same victim, in State v. Burnell, 129 Or App 105, 877 P2d 1228 (1994). In Burnell, the defendant was convicted on two felony murder counts, each based on a different underlying felony but resulting in the death of a single victim. We held:

“When a defendant is found guilty of multiple felony murder counts, if each of the underlying felonies requires proof of an element not required in another count, then the felony murder charges do not merge, notwithstanding the fact that there was only one homicide victim.” Id. at 109. (Emphasis supplied.)

See also State v. Hessel, 117 Or App 113, 122, 844 P2d 209 (1992), rev den 318 Or 26 (1993).

[626]*626The basis for defendant’s convictions on the aggravated murder counts here was that defendant “personally and intentionally committed homicide under the circumstances set forth in ORS 163.115

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Related

State v. Young
71 P.3d 119 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2003)
State v. Lucio-Camargo
62 P.3d 811 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2003)
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10 P.3d 901 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2000)
Bell v. Kansas City, Kansas, Housing Authority
992 P.2d 1233 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1999)
State v. Barrett
958 P.2d 215 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
958 P.2d 215, 153 Or. App. 621, 1998 Ore. App. LEXIS 581, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barrett-orctapp-1998.