State v. Elliott

383 P.2d 382, 234 Or. 522, 1963 Ore. LEXIS 467
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJune 19, 1963
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 383 P.2d 382 (State v. Elliott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Elliott, 383 P.2d 382, 234 Or. 522, 1963 Ore. LEXIS 467 (Or. 1963).

Opinions

PERRY, J.

The defendant was convicted of the crime of manslaughter by abortion, and appeals.

The evidence discloses that a teen-age girl became pregnant. There is evidence from which the jury could have found that she became mentally overwrought by her condition and on two occasions attempted self-destruction. There is further evidence that the defendant performed the abortion.

The defendant contends that the indictment fails to state a crime and therefore the court erred in admitting any evidence, and, in failing to sustain his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. The defendant’s contention is based upon the proposition that it is necessary to allege in the indictment that the defendant was not a licensed medical or osteopathic physician.

Manslaughter by abortion is defined by ORS 163.060 as follows:

“If any person administers to any woman pregnant with a child any medicine, drug or substance whatever, or uses or employs any instrument or other means, with intent thereby to destroy such child, unless the same is necessary to preserve the life of such mother, such person shall, in case the death of such child or mother is thereby produced, be deemed guilty of manslaughter.”

In State of Oregon v. Buck, 200 Or 87, 262 P2d 495, this court held that where the indictment charged a duly licensed physician with manslaughter by abortion it was necessary to negative the fact that the abortion [525]*525was performed in accordance with the provisions of ORS 677.190 (2), i.e., to preserve the health of the expectant mother. Though two separate acts, they each dealt with the same subject matter and were to be considered in pari materia.

The defendant herein does not contend that the indictment alleges he is a doctor or that the evidence will disclose that he is a member of the medical profession or an osteopathic physician, but only that since this court has construed the Medical and Osteopathic Acts as engrafting an exception into the Manslaughter by Abortion Act, the exception must be negatived in any indictment charging this crime.

The rule in this state as to the necessity of negativing exceptions or provisos in criminal indictments was early set out by Mr. Justice Robert S. Bean in the case of State v. Tamler & Polly, 19 Or 528, 530, 25 P 71, 9 LRA, as follows:

“* * * The exceptions should be negatived only when they are descriptive of the offense, or a necessary ingredient of its definition; but when they afford matter of excuse merely, they are matters of defense and therefore need not be negatived in the indictment. * * *”

And Mr. Justice Lusk, after setting forth the above rule in State v. Schriber, 185 Or 615, 205 P2d 149, noted (185 Or 630), “There has been no departure in the decisions of this court from the principles thus enunciated.”

It is clear that the Medical Practice Act is not a material part of the description of the offense, but is simply a limitation upon the application of the provisions of the Criminal Act as to Medical and Osteopathic phyiscians, and therefore, unless a person is [526]*526charged as a medical or osteopathic physician in the indictment, the exception, as to him, is a matter of defense and need not be alleged.

In the case of State of Oregon v. Buck, supra, where the defendant was indicted as a medical doctor, we therefore held without discussion that it was necessary in that indictment to allege that the abortion was not performed to preserve the health of the woman. The state, having alleged defendant was a doctor, the defendant conld have entered a plea of guilty and still not have been guilty of the crime as charged, since the abortion could have been performed to preserve health as distinguished from saving life. In an indictment “the conclusions to which accused is entitled under the presumption of innocence should be excluded. * * *” 42 CJS 996, Indictments and In-formations, § 116.

The trial court correctly denied defendant’s motion.

The defendant also contends that since the Medical and Osteopathic Acts as to abortion have been construed in pari materia by this court the Act now violates the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution, and Article I, Section 20, and Article TV, Section 23(2) of the Oregon Constitution. The defendant’s arguments are so lacking in merit that we decline to consider them, except to state that, construing the acts together, they do not violate any requirements or provisions of either the state or federal constitutions.

The trial court instructed the jury, “The law conclusively presumes a malicious and guilty intent from the deliberate commission of any unlawful act.” The defendant properly excepted to the instruction on the basis that the presumption of criminal intent is not conclusive, but rebuttable. A conclusive presumption [527]*527is not an evidentiary rule, but a rule of substantive law. It requires a certain result from established facts. Farnsworth v. Hazelett, 197 Iowa 1367, 199 NW 410, 38 ALR 814; United Life & Accident v. Prostic, 169 Md 535, 182 A 421.

No citation of authority is necessary for the statement that in a criminal case in this jurisdiction a defendant is presumed to be innocent of the offense charged and every necessary element thereof until his guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. Doubt is only removed when a jury returns a verdict of guilty, for the presumption of innocence is a disputable question which goes with the jury into the jury room for consideration. State v. Rosasco, 103 Or 343, 205 P 290.

In State of Oregon v. Nodine, 198 Or 679, 259 P2d 1056, this court pointed out that the statutory conclusive presumption of “ ‘an intent to murder is conclusively presumed from the deliberate use of a deadly weapon, causing death within a year, * * *’ ”. ORS 41.350 (1) should not be given as an instruction of law if there is any evidence from which the jury could find the intent to kill did not exist. We said, “It is certainly illogical and apt to produce confusion to tell a jury in one breath that there is a conclusive presumption of an intent to kill and in the next to submit that question to the jury as one of fact for their determination.” (198 Or 695). We would now add, that since the presumption of innocence is a species of evidence, instructions on conclusive presumptions as to intent should never be given in a criminal case. We also point out that the instruction as given is not the conclusive presumption provided by statute.

“The following presumptions, and no others, are conclusive:
* * # # ÍÍ*
[528]*528“A malicious and guilty intent, from the deliberate commission of an unlawful act, for the purpose of injuring another.” ORS 41.350 (2).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
383 P.2d 382, 234 Or. 522, 1963 Ore. LEXIS 467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-elliott-or-1963.