State v. McKenzie

97 P.3d 1242, 195 Or. App. 318, 2004 Ore. App. LEXIS 1161
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 15, 2004
Docket016295FE; A118650
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 97 P.3d 1242 (State v. McKenzie) 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. McKenzie, 97 P.3d 1242, 195 Or. App. 318, 2004 Ore. App. LEXIS 1161 (Or. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

ARMSTRONG, J.

The state appeals from an order suppressing evidence that it sought to introduce in a prosecution of defendant for felony driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). ORS 813.010(5). The evidence that the trial court suppressed concerned a 1997 Nevada case in which defendant was convicted of DUII. The court concluded that the Nevada conviction failed to meet the Oregon constitutional standard for a conviction involving a waiver of counsel. The state argues that the court should have evaluated the validity of the Nevada conviction under Nevada or federal constitutional standards rather than Oregon’s. The state maintains that, measured under those standards, defendant’s waiver of counsel was valid and that evidence of the conviction should therefore be admissible. We affirm.

The relevant facts are undisputed. Defendant was indicted in 2001 in Jackson County, Oregon, on a charge of felony DUII. The relevant statute provides that

“[d]riving while under the influence of intoxicants is a Class C felony if the defendant has been convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicants in violation of this section or its statutory counterpart in another jurisdiction at least three times in the 10 years prior to the date of the current offense * *

ORS 813.010(5).

The indictment alleged three predicate DUII convictions from Nevada. In a pretrial motion, defendant challenged the validity of the first of those convictions, which was entered in Washoe County, Nevada, in March 1997. He contended that the record developed by the state in prosecuting the Oregon charge failed to establish that he had made a knowing waiver of counsel before pleading no contest in the 1997 Nevada case.

Three documents were submitted as evidence of the Nevada conviction: a judgment; a signed waiver of rights form; and what appears to be a computer record containing, among other things, minutes of the court proceeding. The judgment, which orders a suspended sentence of 30 days’ [321]*321imprisonment, makes no mention of defendant’s plea or waiver of counsel. The waiver form, signed and initialed by defendant, indicates that a number of disclosures were made to defendant about various matters, including his right to confront and subpoena witnesses, his right against self-incrimination, and the possibility that “the State will use this and any other constitutionally valid prior conviction of this type of offense to enhance the penalty for any subsequent offense.” Defendant initialed the following clauses in the form:

“I understand I have the right to have an attorney represent me, and if I cannot afford an attorney the Court will appoint one, and I give up this right or I am represented by: [the words “PRO PER” are typed above a blank line]
* * * *
“I am voluntarily pleading [the word “guilty” is crossed out] / nolo contendere to the offense as stated in the first paragraph, without any promises of lenience or threats having been made.”

The form does not make any mention of the relative dangers or disadvantages of proceeding without counsel. A space provided on the form for a defense attorney’s signature was left blank.

The court minutes reflect that the same notices and waivers described on the waiver form were given orally. They also include a notation that “the Court found Defendant entered the plea knowingly, intelligently, voluntarily, with an understanding of the elements of the offenses and the consequences of the plea and accepted Defendant’s plea.” However, like the waiver form, the minutes make no reference to any discussion of the relative dangers or disadvantages of proceeding without counsel.

The Oregon court concluded that the records of the Nevada conviction “are not sufficient to show that Defendant made a knowing waiver of counsel as required by State v. Jackson, 172 Or App 414[, 19 P3d 925] (2001),” and therefore ruled that evidence of the Nevada conviction was inadmissible in the Oregon case. Relying on ORS ISS.OGOfIXc),1 the state appeals from that order.

[322]*322The requirements for a waiver of a criminal defendant’s right under Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution to be represented by counsel are well established. For a waiver of that right to be valid, it must be knowing and voluntary. E.g., State v. Meyrick, 313 Or 125, 132-33, 831 P2d 666 (1992). Before accepting a proposed waiver of counsel, an Oregon court must assure itself that the waiver is knowing and voluntary. In order for the court to have that assurance, it must be satisfied that the defendant understands the disadvantages or risks of self-representation. The preferred way for the court to satisfy itself on that point is for it to have a colloquy with the defendant on the record about the risks of self-representation. Id. at 133. Here, there is nothing in the record of the 1997 Nevada case that indicates that the Nevada court discussed with defendant the risks of self-representation or otherwise took steps to assure itself that defendant understood those risks. Without more, that record is insufficient to establish that defendant’s waiver of his right to counsel met the Oregon constitutional standard for such a waiver.

The state argues, however, that the trial court erred in applying Oregon’s constitutional standard to the Nevada case. The state relies on our decision in State v. Graves, 150 Or App 437, 947 P2d 209 (1997), rev den, 326 Or 507 (1998), as support for its position. In Graves, the defendant challenged the use of a federal military conviction in the calculation of his criminal history score on the ground that the conviction was obtained without affording him a right to a jury trial, which is a right that is guaranteed to criminal defendants by Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution. We upheld the use of the military conviction, explaining that “the validity of an out-of-state conviction [ ] should be tested under the constitutional requirements of that jurisdiction or of the federal constitution.” Graves, 150 Or App at 441 (emphasis in original). Accordingly, the state argues here that the trial court “should have tested the validity of the [323]*3231997 Nevada conviction under the requirements of the U.S. and Nevada constitutions.”

Defendant disagrees. Relying on State v. Davis, 313 Or 246, 251-54, 834 P2d 1008 (1992), he contends that the court was correct to evaluate the validity of the Nevada conviction under Oregon constitutional standards. Davis involved a challenge to the state’s use of evidence obtained by Mississippi police officers through conduct that, had it occurred in Oregon, would have violated Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution. The Supreme Court reasoned:

“If the government seeks to rely on evidence in an Oregon criminal prosecution, that evidence must have been obtained in a manner that comports with the protections given to the individual by Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution. It does not matter where that evidence was obtained (in-state or out-of-state), or what

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Related

In re the Marriage of McInnis
110 P.3d 639 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2005)
MATTER OF MARRIAGE OF McINNIS
110 P.3d 639 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
97 P.3d 1242, 195 Or. App. 318, 2004 Ore. App. LEXIS 1161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mckenzie-orctapp-2004.