State v. Pasley

484 P.3d 1102, 310 Or. App. 585

Opinion

Submitted September 29, 2020, affirmed April 7, 2021

STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

JAMES STEVEN PASLEY,

Defendant-Appellant.

Multnomah County Circuit Court 18CR29406; A170185

484 P3d 1102

Karin Johana Immergut, Judge. Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate Section, and Sarah De La Cruz, Deputy Public Defender, Office of Public Defense Services, filed the brief for appellant.

Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General, and Robert M. Wilsey, Assistant Attorney General, filed the brief for respondent.

Before DeVore, Presiding Judge, and DeHoog, Judge, and Mooney, Judge.

PER CURIAM Affirmed.

586 State v. Pasley

PER CURIAM A unanimous jury found defendant guilty of unauthorized use of a vehicle (UUV), ORS 164.135, and possession of a stolen vehicle (PSV), ORS 819.300. At sentencing, the trial court merged the jury’s PSV verdict with the UUV verdict, resulting in a single conviction for UUV. Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on both the PSV and UUV counts. We reject those arguments without discussion. Defendant further argues that the court plainly erred in instructing the jury that it need not reach unanimous verdicts and contends that, because providing the erroneous jury instruction constituted structural error, his conviction must be reversed in light of Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 US ___, 140 S Ct 1390, 206 L Ed 2d 583 (2020), notwithstanding the unanimous verdicts. The Supreme Court rejected that argument in State v. Flores Ramos, 367 Or 292, 319, 478 P3d 515 (2020). Further, because the jury poll indicated unanimity as to both counts, we decline to exercise our discretion to review for plain error. See State v. Chorney-Phillips, 367 Or 355, 359, 478 P3d 504 (2020). We therefore reject defendant’s argument concerning the nonunanimous jury instruction.

Affirmed.