State v. Llanos-Martinez

60 P.3d 1099, 185 Or. App. 597, 2003 Ore. App. LEXIS 27
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJanuary 8, 2003
Docket78808; A111093
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 60 P.3d 1099 (State v. Llanos-Martinez) 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. Llanos-Martinez, 60 P.3d 1099, 185 Or. App. 597, 2003 Ore. App. LEXIS 27 (Or. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

LINDER, J.

Defendant appeals his conviction of failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged in a motor vehicle accident, ORS 811.700, challenging the trial court’s award of $5,234.10 in restitution to the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident. We agree with defendant that, on the record before us, that restitution award was erroneously imposed. We therefore vacate the award and remand for further proceedings.

As we will explain later, the pertinent facts are not fully developed. To the extent that they are developed, they are not disputed. Defendant was traveling southbound on a rural highway when he veered across the center line, causing his car to collide with Alan Smith’s vehicle, which was traveling northbound in the opposite lane. Apparently as a result of the impact, defendant drove off the road and onto the road’s shoulder, where his car came to a stop. The vehicle traveling directly behind Smith was forced into a ditch to the side of the road. Defendant and his girlfriend, who was his passenger, then fled on foot. After they did so, a fourth vehicle approached the accident scene and collided with defendant’s stopped and unattended car. The impact caused the fourth car to roll over. The driver of that car, Mary Nilsson, incurred approximately $417 in out-of-pocket expenses for lost property and $4,817 in medical bills and lost wages.

As part of its sentencing recommendation, the state requested restitution to Smith, the driver of the vehicle that defendant initially hit, as well as to Nilsson. Defendant agreed to pay restitution to Smith but disputed the trial court’s authority to award restitution to Nilsson. At a hearing on his objection, defendant argued:

“Now, the statute that’s at issue that will allow restitution in this case is not the typical restitution statute. It is instead ORS 811.706. And I have attached a copy of that statute with the materials I gave to the Court.
“And it says when a person [is convicted of] violating ORS 811.700 * * *, the Court may order the person [to pay an] amount of money equal to the amount of any damages [600]*600caused by the person as a result of the incident that created the duties in ORS 811[.700].
“The incident that created the duty was the crash with Smith [the vehicle in the northbound lane]. So, in my reading of the statute, the only restitution that can be ordered is damages that resulted from that initial incident. So, in other words, only restitution to Mr. Smith.”

In addition to arguing that Nilsson’s collision with defendant’s vehicle was not an incident that created any duties under ORS 811.700, defendant also argued that the evidence did not establish that defendant “caused” Nilsson’s vehicle to collide with his own. The trial court disagreed, explaining:

“Had you [defendant] been able to stay, perhaps you would have flagged down the oncoming cars or waved a light or flare and avoided the collision of the other parties.
“Because I believe there is a direct causal relationship between [defendant] leaving and all of the collisions that occurred between all the vehicles that arose by his initial collision of crossing the center line, I will not accept [defense counsel’s] requests.”

The trial court therefore ordered defendant to pay restitution to Nilsson and her insurer in the amount requested by the state.

On appeal, defendant renews his argument that the restitution award was not authorized by the terms of ORS 811.706, which pertains to awards of restitution in so-called “hit and run” cases. The state concedes that, insofar as ORS 811.706 is concerned, defendant is correct that the statute does not authorize the restitution award to Nilsson. In that regard, the state acknowledges that the only restitution statute discussed at the sentencing hearing by the parties or by the trial court was ORS 811.706. The state further argues, however, that a different statute — ORS 137.106, which pertains to restitution awards generally — provides authority for the award. We begin by explaining why we accept the state’s concession that the award is not authorized by ORS 811.706. We then turn to the state’s alternative theory for affirmance of the award and explain why we decline to resolve the case on that ground.

[601]*601ORS 811.706 was enacted in 1995 to fill a gap in the trial courts’ restitution authority for convictions under ORS 811.700, the so-called “hit-and-run” statute. See State v. Kappelman, 162 Or App 170, 174, 986 P2d 603 (1999) (discussing the genesis of ORS 811.706). Before 1995, trial courts had authority pursuant to ORS 137.106, the general restitution statute, to impose restitution only for pecuniary damages that “result” from a person’s criminal activities. See State v. Eastman / Kovach, 292 Or 184, 189-90, 637 P2d 609 (1981). In other words, a restitution award required a causal nexus between the crime and the damages suffered. That limitation proved to be significant in hit-and-run cases, where the criminal activity consists of leaving a vehicular accident scene without performing the duties specified in ORS 811.700; neither involvement in the accident nor causing the accident is itself a criminal act. Consequently, before the legislature expanded the trial courts’ restitution authority, a defendant convicted of hit-and-run could not be required to pay restitution for damages that resulted from the accident, even if the defendant “caused” the accident. Rather, restitution could be awarded only for pecuniary losses, if any, caused by the criminal activity of failing to perform the specified duties (i.e., immediately stopping; exchanging information with the other drivers) at the accident scene. See generally id.

The legislature enacted ORS 811.706 in 1995 to expand the trial courts’ restitution authority in hit-and-run cases.

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Related

State v. Rodvelt
66 P.3d 577 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 P.3d 1099, 185 Or. App. 597, 2003 Ore. App. LEXIS 27, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-llanos-martinez-orctapp-2003.