State v. McCathern

154 P.3d 130, 211 Or. App. 171, 2007 Ore. App. LEXIS 285
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 28, 2007
Docket0403-31327; A127638
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 154 P.3d 130 (State v. McCathern) 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. McCathern, 154 P.3d 130, 211 Or. App. 171, 2007 Ore. App. LEXIS 285 (Or. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

*173 LANDAU, P. J.

ORS 471.410(2) provides that “[n]o one other than the person’s parent or guardian shall sell, give or otherwise make available any alcoholic liquor to a person under the age of 21 years.” The principal issue in this case is whether that statute requires proof of a culpable mental state. The trial court concluded that the statute sets forth a strict liability offense and requires no proof of a culpable mental state. We agree and affirm.

The facts pertaining to the issue on appeal are few and undisputed. Defendant lived next door to a foster home in which six girls, whose ages ranged from 13 to 17, lived. In February 2004, defendant went to the foster home and listened to music; she offered to bring the girls alcohol and cigarettes. The girls requested that she bring them a bottle of Black Velvet. The next night, defendant came over with a bottle of Black Velvet and gave it to two of the girls. The next day, five of the girls living in the foster home drank what remained of the alcohol that defendant had provided the night before.

Defendant was charged by indictment with, among other things, five counts of furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 years of age. The indictment alleged that defendant “did unlawfully give and make available alcoholic liquor” to five of the foster girls, and also alleged that all of the girls were under the age of 21. The indictment did not allege that defendant committed the crime knowingly or with some other culpable mental state.

Defendant demurred to the indictment, arguing that the indictment failed to state an offense because it did not allege that she had acted with a culpable mental state. Defendant argued that, under Oregon law, a culpable mental state is required for any offense in the absence of clear legislative intent to dispense with that requirement. In defendant’s view, nothing about ORS 471.410(2) evinces a clear legislative intent to make furnishing alcohol to someone *174 under age 21 a strict liability offense. The trial court disagreed, overruling the demurrer on the ground that the legislature had intended the statute to create a strict liability offense.

Later, during trial, defendant raised the same issue by means of a motion for a judgment of acquittal and a request to instruct the jury that the state was required to prove a culpable mental state with respect to furnishing alcohol to a person under 21. The trial court denied both requests, and defendant was convicted of, among other things, five counts of furnishing alcohol to a person under the age of 21.

On appeal, defendant assigns error to the overruling of her demurrer, the denial of her motion for judgment of acquittal, and the denial of her requested jury instruction, all on the ground that the trial court erred in construing ORS 471.410(2) as a strict liability offense. She renews her argument that the text of ORS 471.410(2) does not show a clear legislative intent to dispense with a mental state requirement.

The state responds that the trial court correctly interpreted the statute. According to the state, the statutory predecessors to ORS 471.410(2) have consistently been interpreted by Oregon courts as imposing strict liability, and none of the amendments that have led up to the present law has suggested a legislative intent to deviate from that interpretation. We agree with the state.

Defendant assigns error to three different trial court rulings, each of which ordinarily would implicate a different standard of review on appeal. See State v. King, 307 Or 332, 339, 768 P2d 391 (1989) (in reviewing denial of motion for judgment of acquittal, court examines evidence in light most favorable to the state to determine whether rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt); State v. Couch, 196 Or App 665, 672, 103 P3d 671 (2004), aff'd, 341 Or 610, 147 P3d 322 (2006) (trial court’s ruling on demurrer to charging instrument reviewed for errors of law); State v. Honzel, 177 Or App 35, 42, 33 P3d 346 (2001) (in reviewing denial of requested jury instruction, court reviews facts in light most favorable to submission of case to jury and will uphold ruling only if there is no evidence *175 in record to support instruction). In this case, however, each assignment of error is premised on a contention that the trial court incorrectly construed the statute that defines the offense of which she was convicted. The proper interpretation of a statute is a question we review as a matter of law. State v. Stamper, 197 Or App 413, 416, 106 P3d 172, rev den, 339 Or 230 (2005) (when the dispositive issue 'underlying trial court’s ruling involves meaning of applicable statutes, we review ruling as a matter of law). With that standard in mind, we turn to the parties’ arguments.

In construing statutes, our goal is to determine the meaning most likely intended by the enacting legislature by examining the text of the enactment in context and, if necessary, consulting legislative history and other aids to construction. PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610-12, 859 P2d 1143 (1993). Our textual analysis includes an examination of the wording of the statute, State v. Werdell, 340 Or 590, 596-97, 136 P3d 17 (2006), the wording of related statutes, State v. Webb, 324 Or 380, 390, 927 P2d 79 (1996), prior judicial construction of the relevant terms, State v. Stubbs, 193 Or App 595, 600, 91 P3d 774, rev den, 337 Or 669 (2004), the preexisting common law, and the statutory framework within which the statute was enacted, Fresk v. Kraemer, 337 Or 513, 520-21, 99 P3d 282 (2004).

ORS 161.095 provides that, “[e]xcept as provided in ORS 161.105, a person is not guilty of an offense unless the person acts with a culpable mental state with respect to each material element of the offense that necessarily requires a culpable mental state.” ORS 161.105, in turn, provides that “[n]otwithstanding ORS 161.095, a culpable mental state is not

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Related

State v. Jimenez-Correo
273 P.3d 232 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2012)
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196 P.3d 1037 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
154 P.3d 130, 211 Or. App. 171, 2007 Ore. App. LEXIS 285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mccathern-orctapp-2007.