State v. Dickerson

317 P.3d 902, 260 Or. App. 80, 2013 WL 6665114, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1477
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 18, 2013
DocketMI092911; A147467
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 317 P.3d 902 (State v. Dickerson) 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. Dickerson, 317 P.3d 902, 260 Or. App. 80, 2013 WL 6665114, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1477 (Or. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

DUNCAN, J.

In this criminal case, defendant appeals his conviction for second-degree criminal mischief, ORS 164.354,1 arguing that the state failed to prove that he intentionally damaged the “property of another,” ORS 164.305(2).2 Defendant was charged with damaging the property of the state, and he was convicted based on evidence that he aided and abetted his son in shooting two state-owned deer decoys, which they believed were wild deer. Defendant argues that wild deer are not the property of the state; in defendant’s view, wild deer are not the property of any person or entity. Defendant further argues that, because he and his son believed that the decoys were wild deer, the state failed to prove that they intentionally damaged the property of the state. As explained below, we conclude that, for the purposes of the criminal-mischief statute, wild deer are the property of the state. Therefore, we affirm.

We begin with the facts, which we state in the light most favorable to the state. State v. McDonnell, 313 Or 478, 480, 837 P2d 941 (1992). At approximately 7:45 p.m. on October 7, 2009, defendant was driving home in his truck with his son after deer hunting. Because it was more than one half of an hour past sunset, it was too late in the day to legally hunt deer.

State police officers had placed two deer decoys near a road to test public compliance with hunting laws. When [82]*82defendant came upon the decoys, he stopped his truck and turned it toward the decoys. Defendant’s son got out of the truck and fired two shots, using two different rifles. An officer stationed near the decoys approached defendant and his son and ordered them to stay where they were, but they drove away. The officer radioed a second officer stationed further down the road, and that officer stopped defendant’s truck. Defendant’s son admitted firing the two shots, and defendant admitted that he owned the rifles that his son had fired.

The state charged defendant with attempting to take a wildlife decoy, ORS 496.996 and ORS 161.405, use of unlawful hunting methods, ORS 498.002, and second-degree criminal mischief, ORS 164.354.3 The count alleging second-degree criminal mischief charged defendant with “unlawfully and intentionally damaging] a wildlife decoy the property of The State of Oregon, by shooting the decoy in the head[.]” (Emphases added.) At trial, the state moved to strike the references to the wildlife decoy. The trial court granted the motion, over defendant’s objection. Prior to allowing the amendment, the trial court stated, “[Y]ou can strike what the property is, all that matters is that it’s something belonging to the State of Oregon [.]” Defendant has not challenged the amendment on appeal.

After the state presented its evidence, defendant moved for judgment of acquittal on all three counts. Regarding the second-degree criminal mischief count, defendant argued that the state failed to prove that he had intended to take the “property of another,” as required by ORS 164.354, because, in his view, wild deer become property only when they are reduced to physical possession. In response, the state argued that wild deer are the property of the state because wild animals that have not been reduced to physical possession are the property of the sovereign. The trial court denied defendant’s motion, and the jury found defendant guilty of all three counts. This appeal followed.

On appeal, defendant challenges only his second-degree criminal mischief conviction, renewing his argument [83]*83that wild deer are not the property of the state.4 Defendant’s argument presents a question of statutory interpretation. Accordingly, we begin our analysis by examining the text, context, and legislative history of the relevant statutes. See State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-73, 206 P3d 1042 (2009) (describing methodology).

ORS 164.354 defines the crime of second-degree criminal mischief. It provides, in pertinent part, that a person commits that crime, “if * * * having no right to do so nor reasonable ground to believe that the person has such right, the person intentionally damages property of another[.]” ORS 164.354(l)(b) (emphasis added). “Property of another” is a statutory term of art specific to the state’s criminal mischief and arson statutes. It is defined by ORS 164.305(2), which provides, “‘Property of another’ means property in which anyone other than the actor has a legal or equitable interest that the actor has no right to defeat or impair, even though the actor may also have such an interest in the property.” (Emphasis added.) Thus, to prove that a defendant has committed second-degree criminal mischief, the state must prove, among other things, that the defendant intentionally damaged property in which someone else had a legal or equitable interest that the defendant had no right to defeat or impair. Neither the term “legal interest” nor “equitable interest” is defined by statute.

Defendant does not dispute that the state has an interest in wild deer; he acknowledges that the state has a sovereign interest in wild deer, but argues that a sovereign interest is not a “legal or equitable” interest for the purposes of the definition of “property of another” in ORS 164.305(2). In defendant’s view, legal or equitable interests are limited to proprietary and possessory interests, and the state’s sovereign interest in wild deer is neither a proprietary nor a possessory interest.

In support of his argument that wild deer are not the property of the state, defendant relies on Simpson v. [84]*84Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, 242 Or App 287, 304, 255 P3d 565 (2011), in which we construed ORS 498.002(1), which provides, “Wildlife is the property of the state.” In Simpson, we held that, although the statute provides that wildlife is the “property” of the state, the state does not “own” wildlife in the “common sense of ‘ownership.’” 242 Or App at 304. Instead, the state has a sovereign interest in wildlife. Id. As we explained in Simpson, that interest is rooted in English common law, under which, according to Blackstone, wildlife “‘belonged not to the people in common but to the King.’” Id. at 299 (quoting State v. Couch,

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Related

State v. Stockert
464 P.3d 151 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2020)
State v. Dickerson
345 P.3d 447 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
317 P.3d 902, 260 Or. App. 80, 2013 WL 6665114, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dickerson-orctapp-2013.