State v. E. C.-P. (In re E. C.-P.)

410 P.3d 1045, 289 Or. App. 569
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 28, 2017
DocketA158058
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 410 P.3d 1045 (State v. E. C.-P. (In re E. C.-P.)) 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. E. C.-P. (In re E. C.-P.), 410 P.3d 1045, 289 Or. App. 569 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

DEHOOG, P. J.

*1046*570Youth appeals from an order of the juvenile court modifying youth's decade-old delinquency disposition. The court relied on ORS 419C.610, which authorizes a juvenile court to "modify or set aside any order made by it upon such notice and with such hearing as the court may direct." Acting on the state's motion, the court vacated its "deferral" of two requirements in the original disposition, with the result that the modified disposition required youth to register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample for the state criminal identification database. Given the unique posture of this case, we conclude that the court did not err and, accordingly, affirm.

The relevant facts are procedural. In 2004, youth, then age 14, admitted to having committed acts that would constitute first-degree sodomy if committed by an adult. In the juvenile court's dispositional order committing youth to the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), the juvenile court indicated that it had "deferred" two conditions, as follows:

"7. The youth is within the jurisdiction of the court for having committed an act which if done by an adult would be a crime specified in Oregon laws 1991-Chapter 669 and therefore the court orders that the youth provide a DNA sample at the direction of the probation/parole officer for submission to the DNA databank. (Deferred)
"8. The youth will comply with sex offender registration as required by law. (Deferred)"

The court's order suggested that the court would consider making those "deferrals" permanent in a later proceeding, in which it might vacate its jurisdictional order altogether if the circumstances warranted:

"The blood draw and sex offender registration are deferred until a decision is made regarding vacating jurisdiction. If the youth successfully completes all conditions of probation, upon written factual findings the Court may vacate the order taking jurisdiction and have all admissions(s) [sic ] set aside and charge(s) dismissed."

In 2010, however, while youth was still in OYA custody, the state prosecuted youth for two adult felonies, *571attempt to commit second-degree assault, ORS 161.405 (2)(c), and unlawful use of a weapon, ORS 166.220, both of which resulted in guilty pleas. Because those offenses led to youth's incarceration in an adult facility, his OYA parole/probation officer wrote the juvenile court and requested "that [youth's] commitment to the Oregon Youth Authority be terminated and that his wardship be vacated." In response, the juvenile court entered an "order terminating jurisdiction pursuant to ORS 419C.005(4)(c)," which stated as follows: "Based on a review of the Court's file and the recommendation of [OYA], the Court finds that it is in the best interests of the youth offender and the community that jurisdiction is terminated. It is ordered that Juvenile Court jurisdiction is terminated." (Uppercase omitted.) Neither OYA's request nor the resulting order explicitly addressed the two conditions that the 2004 disposition had "deferred."

In 2014, law enforcement became aware that, despite his juvenile adjudication for sodomy, youth-who by then was 24 years old-was living in the community but was not registered as a sex offender. As a result, the state filed a motion asking the juvenile court to modify its 2004 order by lifting the deferral of the requirements that youth provide a DNA sample and register as a sex offender. In response to the state's motion, the court appointed counsel for youth and, following a hearing, concluded that it had authority to modify the 2004 order pursuant to ORS 419C.610.1 Rather than immediately grant the state's request, however, the court postponed its ruling to give youth an opportunity to submit evidence related to the court's exercise of discretion regarding the state's *1047motion. In part because some of youth's records had been destroyed in a courthouse fire, the court suggested that it would authorize funds for youth to obtain a current psychological evaluation. Youth ultimately submitted favorable letters from his probation officer and a former teacher, but the record does not reflect whether he attempted to obtain an updated evaluation.

At a subsequent hearing, after hearing from counsel and allowing youth to read a prepared statement, the *572court granted the state's motion. Although it acknowledged the positive comments that youth's probation officer had offered, the court explained to youth that it needed "to feel certain that you present a low risk," and that it could not do so without a current psychological evaluation, which it did not have. Accordingly, the court entered the following order granting the state's motion:

"The July 9, [2004] order is modified to vacate the deferral of conditions 7 and 8 of the July 9, 2004 amended order of commitment to the Oregon Youth Authority, and that the Youth shall provide a DNA sample for submission to the DNA databank as well as comply with sex offender registration as required by [former ] ORS Chapter 181."2

On appeal under ORS 419A.200(1),3 youth asserts that the court erred in modifying the order to vacate the deferral of those conditions. The parties both state that we review the juvenile court's decision to modify the order under ORS 419C.610 for abuse of discretion. Youth's argument, however, is that ORS 419C.610 does not authorize the court's modification here. The parties' dispute therefore presents a question of statutory construction, which we review for errors of law. State ex rel. Juv. Dept. v. Tyree , 177 Or.App. 187, 189, 33 P.3d 729 (2001).

We begin by noting what youth does not argue on appeal.

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Related

State v. B. Y.
510 P.3d 247 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2022)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
410 P.3d 1045, 289 Or. App. 569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-e-c-p-in-re-e-c-p-orctapp-2017.