State v. Delker

858 P.2d 1345, 123 Or. App. 129, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1522
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 15, 1993
Docket91-424; CA A69965
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 858 P.2d 1345 (State v. Delker) 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. Delker, 858 P.2d 1345, 123 Or. App. 129, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1522 (Or. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

[131]*131DEITS, J.

Defendant was charged with two counts each of arson in the first degree, ORS 164.325, burglary in the first degree, ORS 164.225, criminal mischief in the first degree, ORS 164.365, and one count of assault in the fourth degree, ORS 163.160. The state appeals from an order dismissing the indictment on the ground of former jeopardy. We reverse and remand for trial.

Defendant’s estranged wife had a restraining order prohibiting defendant from, in any manner, “molesting, interfering with or menacing” her or their minor children and barring him from her apartment. On February 21,1991, defendant and his estranged wife celebrated her birthday together with a night out on the town. They were together until approximately 2:15 a.m., when, at her apartment, a fight ensued and defendant allegedly assaulted her. The police were called and defendant’s wife was taken to the hospital. At about 3:45 a.m., defendant allegedly returned to his wife’s apartment, unlawfully entered the apartment and started a fire.

While the criminal charges in this case were pending, wife started a criminal contempt proceeding against defendant for violating the restraining order. Defendant was found in criminal contempt and was sentenced to six months in jail. Following his contempt conviction, defendant moved to dismiss the criminal charges on the statutory ground of former jeopardy, asserting that those crimes and the conduct for which he was held in criminal contempt were part of the same criminal episode. The trial court granted defendant’s motion.

Oregon’s former jeopardy doctrine is codified at ORS 131.515:

“(1) No person shall be prosecuted twice for the same offense.
“ (2) No person shall be separately prosecuted for two or more offenses based upon the same criminal episode, if the several offenses are reasonably known to the appropriate prosecutor at the time of commencement of the first prosecution and establish proper venue in a single court.”

[132]*132Subsection (1) of the above statute is consistent with the constitutional prohibition against former jeopardy contained in Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution. Subsection (2) provides greater protection for criminal defendants by requiring that all known charges arising out of the same criminal episode be prosecuted together. State v. Nguyen, 95 Or App 653, 656, 771 P2d 279, rev den 308 Or 142 (1989); See also State v. Ellison, 301 Or 676, 725 P2d 363 (1986). Under ORS 131.515(2), separate prosecutions for distinct offenses are barred only if: (1) the separate prosecutions are for two or more offenses that are part of the same criminal episode; (2) the offenses were known to the appropriate prosecutor at the commencement of the first prosecution; and (3) venue was proper in a single court. State v. Crumal, 62 Or App 156, 659 P2d 977 (1983).

The trial court dismissed the criminal charges against defendant on the basis of former jeopardy finding that all seven criminal charges were prosecuted in the criminal contempt proceeding. The state argues that the court’s finding is not supported by the record. We are bound by the trial court’s findings of fact, if they are supported by the appropriate record. Ball v. Gladden, 250 Or 485, 443 P2d 621 (1968). The trial court based its decision on the record of the contempt hearing and the sentencing proceeding. A criminal contempt proceeding is a prosecution for purposes of former jeopardy and, therefore, the trial court was correct in relying on that proceeding. State v. Thompson, 294 Or 528, 659 P2d 383 (1983). However, a sentencing proceeding is not a prosecution for purposes of former jeopardy. Cf. State v. Montez, 309 Or 564, 604, 789 P2d 1352 (1990). In deciding that former jeopardy barred prosecution of defendant on the criminal charges, the trial court relied in part on comments made in the sentencing proceeding. That was error.

Defendant has the burden to prove all of the elements of former jeopardy. State v. Lowery, 95 Or App 583, 770 P2d 923 (1989). We conclude that defendant failed to carry his burden to prove that he was prosecuted in the earlier proceeding for the criminal charges. The contempt proceeding was very short, resulting in only five pages of transcript. The pertinent portions of that transcript establish that the court found defendant guilty of criminal contempt because he [133]*133admitted that he had contact with his wife and was at her apartment:

“THE COURT: Have a seat please. Mrs. Delker, was there — obviously there was an arrest on a violation?
“MRS. DELKER: Yeah.
“THE COURT: What happened?
“MRS. DELKER: He broke in through my bedroom window and caught my apartment on fire.
“THE COURT: Are there other criminal charges that are being investigated?
“MRS. DELKER: Yes.
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“THE COURT: Well, [defendant], you do have a right not to say anything about the criminal charges that are pending against you. Anything you would say here would be on the record under oath and could be used against you in any criminal proceedings.
“[DEFENDANT]: I’m aware of that.
“THE COURT: So I think the thing to do is continue custody status until you have a chance to talk with [your lawyer] about the charges.
“[DEFENDANT]: I have talked to him about it. I wanted to point out something that it was mentioned in the police investigation where my wife * * * admits to lying about — to the police about the restraining order. And we had been out the night that this supposedly happened together and I was —it was my understanding we were making a reconciliation of the matter. As it turned out, it seems like I was set up to be there to be charged with these other things for violating the restraining order.
“THE COURT: Well, [defendant], as long as there is a restraining order, it’s subject to being enforced. Unfortunately sometimes people don’t always — aren’t always strict in enforcing it. But if you were on the premises where you weren’t supposed to be, that is a violation of the restraining order.
‘ ‘ [DEFENDANT]: I’m not denying that.
“THE COURT: Okay.
“[DEFENDANT]: I feel like I was put into that position. She made me think * * * we were going to reconcile — you know, the misunderstanding that brought on this [134]*134restraining order.

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State v. Delker
858 P.2d 1345 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
858 P.2d 1345, 123 Or. App. 129, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1522, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-delker-orctapp-1993.