State v. Chatfield

939 P.2d 55, 148 Or. App. 13, 1997 Ore. App. LEXIS 584
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMay 7, 1997
Docket9503-31557; CA A89350
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 939 P.2d 55 (State v. Chatfield) 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. Chatfield, 939 P.2d 55, 148 Or. App. 13, 1997 Ore. App. LEXIS 584 (Or. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

LANDAU, J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction on two counts of theft in the first degree, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss both counts on statute of limitations grounds. We reverse.

On March 7, 1995, the state filed an indictment charging defendant with five counts of theft in the first degree. Counts 1 through 5 alleged that defendant committed the crimes on February 25, February 26, March 2, March 5, and March 6, 1992, respectively. On March 29, 1995, defendant was arraigned. On June 28, 1995, defendant moved to dismiss all five counts on the ground that all were time-barred by the applicable three-year statute of limitations. The state responded by asserting two arguments. First, it argued that the motion to dismiss itself was untimely, because it had been filed more than ten days from the arraignment and defendant had failed to establish good cause for the delay. Second, it argued that at least the last count had been filed within three years of the date the crime was committed. Defendant responded that, for a variety of reasons, there was good cause for the delay in filing his motion. The trial court granted defendant’s motion as to the first three counts, but it denied the motion as to counts 4 and 5. Defendant then was found guilty and sentenced after a trial on stipulated facts.

On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss counts 4 and 5 of the indictment. Both, he argues, were filed more than three years after the date the crimes were committed. The state again responds by asserting two arguments, namely, that defendant’s motion was untimely and that, in any event, the fourth and fifth counts of the indictment were timely filed.

We begin with the state’s argument that the motion to dismiss was untimely filed. ORS 135.520 provides that a motion to set aside an indictment or to dismiss the accusatory instrument [16]*16In this case, defendant filed his motion more than 10 days after he had been arraigned. The trial court, however, apparently accepted defendant’s contention that there was, in fact, good cause for filing more than 10 days after arraignment, because it granted defendant’s motions as to the first three counts. The trial court, in fact, could not have granted defendant’s motions as to the first three counts without having determined that he had good cause for the late filing. See Ball v. Gladden, 250 Or 485, 487, 443 P2d 621 (1968) (if trial court made no finding, appellate court assumes it made findings necessary to its ultimate conclusion); State v. Earls, 69 Or App 75, 79, 683 P2d 1387, rev den 297 Or 824 (1984) (same). That is especially significant in this case, because the state does not cross-assign as error the trial court’s implicit ruling on the point. ORAP 5.57(2)(b); State v. Wheelon, 137 Or App 63, 65 n 1, 903 P2d 399 (1995) (to assert that a judgment must be affirmed on grounds that the trial court rejected requires cross-assignment). Accordingly, we give no further consideration to the state’s initial argument.

[15]*15“shall be made and heard at the time of the arraignment or within 10 days thereafter, unless for good cause the court allows additional time.”

[16]*16As to the merits, defendant argues that the fourth and fifth counts allege that defendant committed crimes on March 5 and March 6,1992, respectively, and that the March 7,1995, indictment therefore was filed more than three years from the commission of either crime. The state responds that both counts were timely filed. According to the state, the statute of limitations must be read in conjunction with two other statutes, which combine to add an additional two days to the three-year statute of limitations that applies to defendant’s crimes. The state relies first on ORS 131.145, which provides that, for the purpose of calculating a criminal statute of limitations, time calculations begin the day after the offense was committed. It also relies on ORS 174.120, which states a general rule of time computation that excludes the first day in the time period. The state argues that, under the former statute, the starting point is the day after the crimes, March 6, and March 7, 1992. The state argues that, under ORS 174.120, the law requires that the limitation period then exclude the first day of the relevant time period, so that the three-year statute of limitations as to counts 4 and 5 begin on March 7, and March 8, 1992, respectively. By combining the effect of the two statutes, the state concludes, the March 7 [17]*17indictment was timely filed. Defendant responds that the state improperly “double counts” the effect of ORS 131.145 and ORS 174.120. He also argues that, even under the state’s reading of the statutes, count 4 was untimely, because the March 7, 1995, indictment was filed more than three years from the March 7,1992, starting date.

We examine the effect of ORS 131.145 and ORS 174.120 with an eye to ascertaining the intentions of the legislature in enacting them. ORS 174.020. We begin with the text of the statutes read in context and, if necessary, read also in the light of the legislative history and other aids to construction. PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610-12, 859 P2d 1143 (1993). The context includes the common law that existed before the enactment of the statutes and prior versions of the statutes themselves. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Tualatin Tire & Auto, 322 Or 406, 415-17, 908 P2d 300 (1995), mod on recons 325 Or 46, 932 P2d 1141 (1997); Denton and Denton, 145 Or App 381, 386, 930 P2d 239 (1996), rev allowed 325 Or 247 (1997).

At common law, criminal statutes of limitations were calculated by excluding the day on which the crime was committed. See generally State v. Hansen, 304 Or 169, 171, 743 P2d 157 (1987). The principal justification for the rule was that the law disregards fractions of a day in the computation of limitations and other time periods. Id. (“[i]n calculating the passage of time, the common law treated each day as an indivisible unit”); see also generally N. J. Marini, Annotation, Inclusion or Exclusion of First and Last Day for Purposes of Statute of Limitations, 20 ALR 2d 1249 (1951).

ORS 131.145 originally was enacted in 1973, as part of a general revision of the criminal procedure statutes. The language originally proposed is as it appears in the statute today:

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Bluebook (online)
939 P.2d 55, 148 Or. App. 13, 1997 Ore. App. LEXIS 584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chatfield-orctapp-1997.