State v. Pipkin

261 P.3d 60, 245 Or. App. 73, 2011 Ore. App. LEXIS 1136, 2011 WL 3587427
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 17, 2011
Docket200904318; A142469
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 261 P.3d 60 (State v. Pipkin) 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. Pipkin, 261 P.3d 60, 245 Or. App. 73, 2011 Ore. App. LEXIS 1136, 2011 WL 3587427 (Or. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

*75 SCHUMAN, P. J.

Defendant was convicted of one count of first-degree burglary, ORS 164.225, one count of fourth-degree assault, ORS 163.160(3), and one count of menacing, ORS 163.190. His first argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the assault count because the record did not contain evidence that he caused physical injury to another, one element of that crime. Defendant also argues that, under State v. Boots, 308 Or 371, 780 P2d 725 (1989), cert den, 510 US 1013 (1993), the trial court erred in rejecting his request to instruct the jury that at least 10 jurors had to agree on a single factual scenario— either that he entered with the requisite intent, or that he remained with the requisite intent. We conclude that entering and remaining with the requisite intent are two ways to commit the same crime, so no Boots instruction was necessary. We affirm. 1

Because defendant’s first argument challenges the denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal, we begin by summarizing the facts in the light most favorable to the state. State v. Cunningham, 320 Or 47, 63, 880 P2d 431 (1994), cert den, 514 US 1005 (1995). Defendant was the victim’s ex-boyfriend. Although they were no longer dating at the time of the incident, they remained friends. On the night of the incident, defendant had dinner at the victim’s home. Before leaving, he gave her his food stamp card because he had been coming to dinner regularly and he wanted to help her defray the food costs. At approximately 4:00 a.m. the next morning, while the victim was in her bedroom, defendant started pounding on the wall of the apartment and loudly demanding to be let in. The victim looked out her bedroom window and saw defendant reach down and pick up a rock, which he then used to break her bedroom window. Defendant jumped through the window and then proceeded to attack the victim. Screaming that he would “kill her” and “cut her,” he hit her in the right eye and cheek, and also tried to stab her *76 with a knife. The victim’s shoulder “popped” as she was trying to get away, and her elbow was hurt. The victim yelled at defendant and told him to leave her home. Instead, he grabbed the victim’s purse off her bed and went through it to find the card. The victim eventually found the card in her wallet and gave it back to defendant. Defendant continued screaming at the victim, tried to hit her with a piece of glass from the broken window, and shoved her against a dresser, which hit the middle of her back. On his way out of the apartment, he passed through the living room, where he was confronted by a man who was staying with the victim. Defendant punched the man in the face and ran out the door.

Police arrived shortly thereafter, having been called by the victim’s neighbor. They searched the neighborhood but did not find defendant. After a few moments, however, he returned to the apartment, where he was arrested and taken into custody.

On appeal, defendant first argues that there was insufficient evidence from which a jury could have concluded that defendant was guilty of assault in the fourth degree. We review the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal to determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, a rational trier of fact could find all the elements of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Cunningham, 320 Or at 63.

ORS 163.160(l)(a) provides that a person commits fourth-degree assault if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes physical injury to another. ORS 161.015(7), in turn, defines “physical injury” as “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.” Evidence establishing either an impairment of a physical condition or substantial pain will support an assault conviction. State v. Poole, 175 Or App 258, 261, 28 P3d 643 (2001).

Defendant argues on appeal, as he did at trial, that his motion for a judgment of acquittal should have been granted because there was not sufficient evidence to allow the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim suffered either an “impairment of physical condition” or “substantial pain.” State v. Jones, 229 Or App 734, 737, 212 P3d 1292, rev den, 347 Or 446 (2009) (“Evidence establishing *77 either an impairment of a physical condition or substantial pain will support an assault conviction.”). The term “substantial pain” refers to the degree and duration of the pain suffered by the victim. To be substantial, pain must be “ample,” State ex rel Juv. Dept. v. Salmon, 83 Or App 238, 241 n 2, 730 P2d 1285 (1986), or “considerable,” State v. Capwell, 52 Or App 43, 46, 627 P2d 905 (1981). That requirement excludes pain that is fleeting or inconsequential.

In this case, there was evidence that the victim was still in pain at least an hour after the attack and that her injuries were of substantial degree — her eye was swollen, her shoulder “popped” during the attack, and her elbow was hurt, as well as her back. This evidence was sufficient to create a question for the jury about whether the victim suffered substantial pain, and the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal. Cf. State ex rel Juv. Dept. v. Greenwood, 107 Or App 678, 682, 813 P2d 58 (1991) (headache pain lasting approximately an hour “constitute[d] substantial pain”).

Defendant next assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his request for a concurrence jury instruction for first-degree burglary. 2 We review a trial court’s refusal to give a requested instruction for errors of law in light of the facts that are most favorable to defendant. State v. Averitt, 187 Or App 486, 488, 68 P3d 269 (2003).

ORS 164.225 provides, in part:

“(1) A person commits the crime of burglary in the first degree if the person violates ORS 164.215 and the building is a dwelling, or if in effecting entry or while in a building or in immediate flight therefrom the person:
“(b) Causes or attempts to cause physical injury to any person; or
“(c) Uses or threatens to use a dangerous weapon.”

*78

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Related

State v. Qualls
329 Or. App. 805 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2023)
State v. Long
399 P.3d 1063 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2017)
State v. Guzman
366 P.3d 816 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2016)
State v. Pipkin
316 P.3d 255 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
261 P.3d 60, 245 Or. App. 73, 2011 Ore. App. LEXIS 1136, 2011 WL 3587427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pipkin-orctapp-2011.