State v. Dulfu

426 P.3d 641, 363 Or. 647
Oregon Supreme Court·Decided September 20, 2018·No. CC 201204555 (SC S064569)·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

DUNCAN, J.

*642**649In this criminal case, defendant asserts that the trial court erred in calculating his criminal history score under the felony sentencing guidelines. Under the guidelines, prior convictions generally increase a defendant's criminal history score, unless they arose out of the same criminal episode as the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. In this case, defendant was convicted of multiple crimes based on child pornography on his computer. Over defendant's objection, the court increased defendant's criminal history score after it sentenced him for each of the crimes, until it reached the maximum criminal history score.

Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that his convictions were based on his possession of multiple images of child pornography at the same time and place and that possession of multiple items of contraband at the same time and place constitutes a single criminal episode. The Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Dulfu , 282 Or. App. 209, 386 P.3d 85 (2016). On review, we reverse and remand.

As explained below, the rule that governs the calculation of a defendant's criminal history score, OAR 213-004-0006, provides that a defendant's criminal history score is based on the defendant's criminal history at the time the defendant's "current crimes" are sentenced; therefore, a defendant's "current crimes" do not count toward the score. The legislative history of the rule shows that, by "current crimes," the drafters of the rule were referring to crimes arising from the same "criminal episode," which they understood to include crimes that, under the statutory and constitutional double jeopardy provisions, must be brought in a single criminal prosecution. Thus, a conviction does not count toward a defendant's criminal history score if, for double jeopardy purposes, it arose out of the same criminal episode as the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. In other words, if double jeopardy principles require crimes to be joined in a single criminal prosecution, then a conviction for one of the crimes cannot be used to increase the defendant's criminal history score for sentencing on any of the other crimes.

**650In this case, the state prosecuted defendant for multiple crimes based on the possession of multiple items of contraband at the same time and place, and, under double jeopardy rules, those crimes were part of a single criminal episode. Therefore, the trial court erred in using defendant's convictions for those crimes to increase his criminal history score as it did.

I. HISTORICAL AND PROCEDURAL FACTS

Law enforcement officers seized and searched defendant's computer and duplicated its hard drive. During a search of the duplicated hard drive, a forensic investigator discovered computer files containing visual recordings of sexually explicit conduct involving children. The state charged defendant with crimes based on 15 of the files. For each of the 15 files, the state charged defendant with one count of encouraging child sexual abuse in the first degree (ECSA I), ORS 163.684, and one count of encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree (ECSA II), ORS 163.686, for a total of 30 counts. (For example, Count 1, which charged defendant with ECSA I, and Count 16, which charged defendant with ECSA II, were based on the same file.) The indictment alleged that the crimes occurred on eight different dates.1

*643As relevant here, a person commits ECSA I if the person either knowingly "duplicates * * * a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child" or knowingly "possesses * * * such a visual recording with the intent to * * * duplicate" it. ORS 163.684(1)(a)(A).2 And, as relevant **651here, a person commits ECSA II if the person "knowingly possesses * * * a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child for the purpose of arousing or satisfying the sexual desires of the person or another person." ORS 163.686(1)(a)(A)(i). Thus, ECSA I applies to the duplication of recordings and the possession of recordings with intent to duplicate them, whereas ECSA II applies to the possession of recordings for a sexual purpose.

The case was tried to a jury. The state presented evidence that the 15 files were on defendant's computer when it was seized from his house and that defendant downloaded the 15 files on eight different dates. The state argued that defendant was guilty of the ECSA I counts because he had possessed the files with the intent to duplicate them; it also argued, in the alternative, that defendant was guilty of those counts because he had duplicated the files by downloading them. The state did not elect a theory of ECSA I, and the jury verdict form did not identify a theory. The jury convicted defendant on all 30 counts (one ECSA I count and one ECSA II count for each file).

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State v. Dulfu, 426 P.3d 641, 363 Or. 647 (Or. 2018).

426 P.3d 641 (State v. Dulfu) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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