State v. Howard

619 P.2d 943, 49 Or. App. 391, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 3720
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedNovember 24, 1980
Docket79-12-34539, CA 17921
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 619 P.2d 943 (State v. Howard) 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. Howard, 619 P.2d 943, 49 Or. App. 391, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 3720 (Or. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

*393 RICHARDSON, J.

Defendant appeals his conviction after jury trial for possession of a controlled substance. ORS 475.992. His sole assignment of error is that the trial court erred in refusing to admit his offer of prior recorded testimony, given at an earlier related trial. Defendant claims the testimony was properly admissible under ORS 41.900(8). He argues, therefore, the court erred in refusing to admit it. We affirm.

On December 12, 1979, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Portland. During the course of the search, three Portland police officers took up positions in the rear of the house. According to their testimony at defendant’s trial, one or more of them observed defendant at a third floor window shaking something out of a plastic baggie onto the roof of the house. One of the officers, Officer McDonnell, stated that at one point he observed the baggie fall out of one of defendant’s hands onto the roof and ground. After the house was secured, McDonnell noted green vegetable material on the roof. He also found a bag containing suspected amphetemine tablets on the ground and a rolled baggie containing suspected marijuana on the roof. Defendant was subsequently indicted for possession of both the marijuana and amphetemines.

Prior to defendant’s trial a question arose as to certain evidence defendant intended to present in his behalf. Defendant notified the court that he wished to call a Micheál Yeager to testify as to defendant’s whereabouts in the residence during the execution of the warrant. Yeager’s testimony would, in part, have been to the effe'ct that defendant was not in the third floor window at any time during the execution of the warrant. Yeager, upon advice of counsel, advised the court he would refuse to testify and would invoke his privilege not to incriminate himself as guaranteed in Article I, § 12 1 of the Oregon Constitution *394 and the Fifth 2 and Fourteenth 3 Amendments of the Constitution of the United States. Defendant then intended to offer a transcript of testimony given by Yeager during the trial of a murder case which also arose out of the execution of the warrant on December 12, 1979. During the course of that proceeding, Yeager testified to certain matters relevant to defendant’s trial. He also, however, invoked his privilege not to incriminate himself on a number of occasions in response to other possibly relevant inquiries by both counsel in that case.

Defendant argued to the trial court that Yeager’s present assertion of his Fifth Amendment right made him "unavailable” for the purposes of ORS 41.900(8) and, therefore, allowed defendant to introduce his prior recorded testimony. The state objected because of the witness’ repeated exercise of his Fifth Amendment privilege at the previous trial. The court rejected defendant’s offer. The case proceeded to trial and defendant was convicted.

Defendant again argues on appeal that the witness’ prior recorded testimony was admissible under ORS 41.900(8), because Yeager became unavailable as a witness for defendant when he invoked his privilege not to incriminate himself before defendant’s trial.

ORS 41.900 provides in pertinent part:

"Evidence may be given of the following facts:
******
*395 "(8) The testimony of a witness, deceased, or out of the state, or unable to testify, given in a former action, suit, or proceeding, or trial thereof, between the same parties, relating to the same matter.”

While we agree that in this case the witness’ claim of privilege made him unavailable as a witness to defendant, State v. Rawls, 252 Or 556, 451 P2d 127 (1969); State v. Bryant, 20 Or App 562, 532 P2d 815, rev den (1975), it does not necessarily follow that his entire testimony was then admissible in evidence.

The state raises a number of arguments in regard to this last issue. It contends that because defendant was not a party to the trial in which Yeager’s testimony was taken, and because the prior trial involved the crime of murder and not drug possesion, ORS 41.900(8) does not allow admission of the testimony. Specifically, the state argues defendant’s trial was not a trial "between the same parties, relating to the same matter” as required in ORS 41.900(8).

The second of these two requirements is satisfied in this case. The testimony at the former trial clearly "related to the same matter” as that in issue at defendant’s trial. The location of defendant during the execution of the warrant was relevant in both proceedings. This requirement is satisfied when the issue on which the former evidence is offered is common to both cases. It is immaterial that there are other issues in either case, or that the subject matter of the two actions is different. Re Rights to Waters of Silvies River, 115 Or 27, 64, 237 P 322 (1925); State v. Von Klein, 71 Or 159, 142 P 549, Ac’ 16C 1054 (1914).

With regard to the first requirement, we have found no Oregon authority which would support the state’s argument. The "identity of parties” requirement in ORS 41.900(8) has been described by commentators as merely a convenient phrase to indicate the underlying requirement with regard to the admission of such testimony, i.e., that the former opponent of the evidence must have had substantially the same motive and opportunity to cross-examine the adverse witness about the same matters as the present party would have. McCormick on Evidence, §§ 256- *396 57 (2d ed 1972); 5. Wigmore, § 1388 (3d ed 1974). As further stated by McCormick:

"* * * Consequently, if it appears that in the former suit a party having a like motive to cross-examine about the same matters as the present party would have, was accorded an adequate opportunity for such examination, the testimony may be received against the present party. Identity of interest in the sense of motive rather than technical identity of cause of action or title, is the test. * * *” (Footnote omitted.) McCormick, supra, at 620.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
619 P.2d 943, 49 Or. App. 391, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 3720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-howard-orctapp-1980.