State v. Beck

344 P.3d 140, 269 Or. App. 304, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 226
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 25, 2015
Docket111253996; A151303
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 344 P.3d 140 (State v. Beck) 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. Beck, 344 P.3d 140, 269 Or. App. 304, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 226 (Or. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

ORTEGA, P. J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for misdemeanor driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), ORS 813.010. Although defendant asserts numerous assignments of error, we write to address only two, and affirm as to the others without discussion. Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress statements made after he invoked his right to counsel. Defendant also assigns error to the trial court’s refusal to give his proposed jury instructions regarding the necessity of proving a voluntary act. We conclude that we need not decide whether the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress because any error in admitting defendant’s statements was harmless. We also conclude that the trial court did not err in refusing to give the proposed jury instruction because there was no evidence in the record to support defendant’s theory of the case. Accordingly, we affirm.

When reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress, “[a] trial court’s findings of historical fact are binding on appellate courts if there is constitutionally sufficient evidence in the record to support those findings.” State v. Ehly, 317 Or 66, 75, 854 P2d 421 (1993). We state the facts in accordance with that standard of review.

Bystanders found defendant unresponsive behind the wheel of his car, with the engine running, in the slow lane of traffic on Barbur Boulevard in Portland. Officer Myers arrived and successfully revived defendant. Upon waking, defendant believed that he was sleeping in his home. Once defendant complied with Myers’s request that he step out of the car, Myers smelled a “moderate” odor of alcohol and noticed that defendant was swaying. Defendant denied alcohol and drug use.

Paramedics arrived and agreed with Myers that defendant was intoxicated and had not been involved in an accident. Myers arrested defendant, advised him of his Miranda rights, and placed him in custody. Myers asked defendant if he understood his Miranda rights. Initially, defendant kept repeating in response, “I was sleeping, though.” Myers asked again, and defendant responded, “I guess so.”

[306]*306Once defendant was in custody at the police station, Officer Thorsen arrived and began the implied consent breath test process. Defendant asked Thorsen if he could use a phone to call his parents and then, about 10 minutes later, asked to contact an attorney. Thorsen then read aloud part of the DUII form stating that defendant had a right to privately consult with an attorney before agreeing to DUII testing. Thorsen put defendant in a room with a phone and a phone book, and told defendant that he could contact whomever he wanted. Thorsen informed defendant that he would be back in about 20 minutes and left him alone — but when Thorsen returned, defendant was asleep.

Thorsen woke defendant and escorted him into an interview room, which contained an Intoxilyzer machine. Defendant said that he had not been able to contact an attorney; Thorsen again advised him of his Miranda rights, and defendant affirmed that he understood those rights. Thorsen proceeded to ask defendant a series of questions, which defendant answered to the effect that he did not remember driving and had not consumed alcohol or drugs. Defendant said that he owned the car in which he was found; that, as far as he knew, he had driven alone; that he was not diabetic, sick, or injured; and that he was not taking any medications. During the interview, defendant did not indicate that he wanted an attorney present.

After the interview, Thorsen read defendant the “rights and consequences” section of the implied consent form, which explained the potential consequences of taking or refusing the breath test. Defendant initially responded that he did not know what he should do because he was unable to contact an attorney. After Thorsen further explained the rights and consequences, defendant consented to a breath-test sample, which revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 percent.

At trial, defendant moved to suppress the statements he made during the interview, arguing that, because he had invoked his right to counsel, Thorsen violated that right by conducting the interview. The trial court concluded that defendant did not invoke the right to counsel and denied defendant’s motion to suppress.

[307]*307Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress. “Whether a defendant’s statements amount to an unequivocal invocation of his or her right against compelled self-incrimination, an equivocal invocation, or no invocation at all, is a question of law.” State v. Harding, 221 Or App 294, 301, 189 P3d 1259, rev den, 345 Or 503 (2008). In determining whether a defendant’s statement was unequivocal, we view the statement “in light of the totality of the circumstances at and preceding the time that it was made, ‘to ascertain whether a reasonable officer in the circumstances would have understood that defendant was invoking his rights.’” Id. (quoting State v. Holcomb, 213 Or App 168, 176, 159 P3d 1271, rev den, 343 Or 224 (2007)).

On appeal, defendant argues that his statement to Thorsen that he wanted to contact an attorney was an unequivocal request for counsel. Defendant alternatively argues that, even if the request could be characterized as ambiguous, Thorsen had an obligation to further inquire to clarify his intent. The state contends that defendant’s request was equivocal and that there was no invocation. The state further argues that a reasonable officer would not have understood that defendant was invoking his right to counsel when he “took a nap rather than pursuing counsel” and when he did not request that an attorney be present for the interview. The state contends that defendant’s actions after he had an opportunity to call an attorney demonstrated that he had changed his mind and had chosen to waive his right to counsel for purposes of the interview. Alternatively, the state argues that if the trial court erred, the error was harmless because defendant’s statements were not likely to have affected the verdict, so reversal is not warranted.

We need not decide whether admission of defendant’s statements during the interrogation was erroneous because any error was harmless.1 “Oregon’s constitutional [308]*308test for affirmance despite error consists of a single inquiry: Is there little likelihood that the particular error affected the verdict?” State v. Davis, 336 Or 19, 32, 77 P3d 1111 (2003). Here, defendant made no statements that incriminated him concerning alcohol or drugs. The only potentially damaging statements were that he owned the car in which he was found and that he was not a diabetic or on medication. However, in light of all the other evidence that defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicants, there is little likelihood that the admission of those statements affected the verdict.

We proceed to the second of the two issues we have undertaken to address. At trial defendant also submitted jury instructions, including Uniform Criminal Jury Instruction 1065 on “voluntary act.” The instruction stated:

“For criminal liability, Oregon law requires the performance of a voluntary act.
“(1) Act — a bodily movement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
344 P.3d 140, 269 Or. App. 304, 2015 Ore. App. LEXIS 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-beck-orctapp-2015.