State v. Chatelain

188 P.3d 325, 220 Or. App. 487, 2008 Ore. App. LEXIS 850
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJune 18, 2008
Docket050633303, A130208
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 188 P.3d 325 (State v. Chatelain) 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. Chatelain, 188 P.3d 325, 220 Or. App. 487, 2008 Ore. App. LEXIS 850 (Or. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

*489 LANDAU, P. J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for second-degree burglary, ORS 164.215; third-degree escape, ORS 162.145; and resisting arrest, ORS 162.315. He assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion for a judgment of acquittal on the second-degree burglary charge. He also assigns error to the court’s denial of his request for a continuance. We write to address defendant’s first assignment of error. We reverse defendant’s second-degree burglary conviction, and remand for entry of conviction for second-degree criminal trespass, but otherwise affirm.

The relevant facts are undisputed. One morning at 7:00 a.m., an eyewitness saw defendant and a young female go into a neighboring house that was vacant and for sale. The neighbor watched the house for 45 minutes, during which time no one left the house. The neighbor called the police, and Officer Debler and Sergeant Harris arrived shortly thereafter. The officers found the front door locked, so they went around to the back of the house where they could hear voices and movement inside. Around that time, Sergeant Amend arrived and remained with Debler at the back of the house, while Harris returned to the front.

Defendant fled out of the front door, and Harris chased him on foot. Debler got into his police car and also began pursuing defendant. Meanwhile, Amend took defendant’s female companion into custody. Although she “had a really young look about her,” she was “[a]t least a teenager.”

With the assistance of a canine unit, the officers apprehended defendant. Defendant exhibited signs of being under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana. Debler searched defendant and found two lighters in his pockets, but no drugs or drug paraphernalia. Defendant’s backpack also contained no drugs or drug paraphernalia. When police officers searched the house, they found no drugs or drug paraphernalia there either.

Debler interviewed defendant at the police station later that evening. Defendant admitted that he had entered the house without the owner’s permission. He also admitted *490 that he had entered the house intending to smoke a marijuana “roach” with his female companion. When asked how old he thought she was, he replied that she might be a minor.

Defendant was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree escape, and resisting arrest. With regard to the burglary charge, the state alleged that defendant “did unlawfully and knowingly enter and remain in a building * * * with the intent to commit the crime of Distribution of Controlled Substance to a Minor therein.”

Defendant was tried to the court. As to the burglary charge, the state’s theory was that defendant entered the vacant residence with the intent to commit a crime inside, specifically, to distribute marijuana to the young woman who accompanied him. At the close of the state’s case-in-chief, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on that charge, arguing that the state had failed to corroborate his confession with regard to his intent to distribute marijuana when he entered the house. The trial court denied defendant’s motion. Defendant presented no evidence and was convicted as charged.

On appeal, defendant assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion for a judgment of acquittal on the burglary charge, again arguing that the evidence was insufficient to corroborate his confession as required by ORS 136.425(1). In particular, he contends, the state failed to produce any evidence apart from his confession that he entered the premises with the intent to commit a crime therein. The state responds that it is not required to corroborate defendant’s intent. According to the state, the law requires that it corroborate only the essence, or “corpus delicti,” of the offense, not each of its elements. In this case, the state argues, the corpus delicti of burglary consists of the mere fact that defendant unlawfully entered the premises. Defendant rejoins that the law requires the state to corroborate more than that. The corpus delicti of burglary must consist of more than unlawful entry, he contends, or else the corroboration of that offense and criminal trespass would be indistinguishable. According to defendant, as relevant to the crime of burglary, ORS 136.425(1) requires the state to corroborate his intent to commit a crime, as well.

*491 On review of a denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal, we consider the record and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the state to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found all elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Cunningham, 320 Or 47, 63, 880 P2d 431 (1994), cert den, 514 US 1005 (1995). A defendant’s confession, however, is not legally sufficient to support a conviction unless there is adequate corroboration. ORS 136.425(1) expressly provides that a confession is not sufficient to support a conviction “without some other proof that the crime has been committed.” The questions in this case are what constitutes “some other proof’ and whether the state supplied it.

In State v. Lerch, 296 Or 377, 397, 677 P2d 678 (1984), the Supreme Court determined that the statute does not require the state to corroborate each and every element of an offense to which a defendant has confessed. The court began by observing that, at common law, the majority of American jurisdictions have concluded that evidence corroborating a confession must establish the corpus delicti of the crime, which consists of two things, namely that (1) “the injury or harm specified in the crime occurred,” and (2) that “this injury or harm was caused by someone’s criminal activity.” Id. at 393 (quoting McCormick on Evidence § 158, 346-47 (2d ed 1972)). The court then examined the specific wording of ORS 136.425(1) and concluded that it essentially adopted the common-law rule:

“Although ‘some proof does not define a certain amount of proof, it does serve the function of limiting the proof required under ORS 136.425(1). In other words, instead of requiring full or complete proof that a crime has been committed, ‘some’ reduces or limits the amount required. The net result is that ORS 136.425

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 P.3d 325, 220 Or. App. 487, 2008 Ore. App. LEXIS 850, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chatelain-orctapp-2008.