State v. Potter

234 P.3d 1073, 236 Or. App. 74, 2010 Ore. App. LEXIS 671
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJune 23, 2010
Docket08112367D; A141927
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 234 P.3d 1073 (State v. Potter) 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. Potter, 234 P.3d 1073, 236 Or. App. 74, 2010 Ore. App. LEXIS 671 (Or. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

*76 ARMSTRONG, J.

The state appeals an order of the trial court dismissing assault charges against defendant on the basis that the charges were barred by former jeopardy. Defendant was charged in a single indictment with one count of attempted second-degree assault, ORS 163.175; two counts of felony fourth-degree assault, ORS 163.16CK3); 1 and one count of contempt of court for violating a restraining order, ORS 33.015. At the state’s request, the contempt charge was bifurcated from the others and tried to the court. Defendant was convicted of that charge. He then moved to dismiss the assault charges on former jeopardy grounds, and the court granted the motion. On appeal, the state argues that, because the assault charges were not committed in the “same criminal episode” as the acts constituting contempt of court, ORS 131.515(2) 2 did not bar trial of defendant on the assault charges. Alternatively, the state argues that defendant effectively consented to separate trials. We affirm.

Defendant and S, the alleged victim in this case, were, at some point, involved in a romantic relationship. In July 2008, S obtained a restraining order against defendant. Among other things, that order prohibited defendant from “[contacting, or attempting to contact, [S] in person (directly or through third parties).” (Boldface and italics omitted.) It also stated that defendant “shall not knowingly be or stay within” 150 feet of S. (Boldface omitted.)

On several occasions between August and November 18, 2008, the date of the charged offenses in this case, defendant tried to get S to remove the restraining order. On November 18, defendant approached S at a park, where she had gone to get a meal provided by a local church. He walked *77 up to her as she was sitting on a bench waiting for the dinner to arrive and began talking to her. Later that evening, S left the park and went to her daughter’s house to pick up a bicycle that she had borrowed from defendant. She then took the bicycle to some friends’ house because she knew that defendant would go there to pick it up.

She was on the back porch of the friends’ house taking a trailer off the bike when defendant suddenly came out the back door of the house and began arguing with her. Another man was also there; he knew of the history between defendant and S and expressed some concern. Eventually, however, defendant convinced the man that he was not going to hurt S, and the man left. Defendant continued to argue with S — asking her where she had been, why her hair was wet, and with whom she had taken a shower. S told him to calm down and turned to go into the house. As she did, defendant grabbed her by the throat and threw her against a post that supported the porch, which resulted in injuries to her face and a black eye.

Based on those events, defendant was charged in an indictment with the following offenses: (1) attempted second-degree assault for attempting to cause physical injury to S by means of a dangerous weapon (the post), ORS 163.175; (2) felony fourth-degree assault on the theory that defendant caused physical injury to S and was previously convicted of assaulting S, ORS 163.160(3)(a); (3) felony fourth-degree assault on the theory that defendant caused physical injury to S and was previously convicted at least three times of assaults involving domestic violence, ORS 163.160(3)(b); and (4) contempt of court for “unlawfully and willfully” disobeying the restraining order “by having personal contact with [5],” ORS 33.015(2)(b).

Defendant was arrested and placed in custody on those charges on December 3, 2008; two weeks later, on December 23, 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to 60 days in jail on an unrelated charge. He was scheduled to be released from custody on that conviction on February 13, 2009.

Meanwhile, defendant’s trial in this case was set for February 24. At a pretrial hearing on February 2, defense *78 counsel requested a continuance of the February 24 trial date due to a scheduling conflict. In the course of considering that request, the court and the parties discussed the implication of the requirement that an in-custody defendant be brought to trial within 60 days after the defendant’s arrest. 3 From the colloquy that ensued, it appears that the parties and the court were operating under the understanding that defendant would be entitled to release when his earlier sentence was served — that is, on February 13 — because more than 60 days had elapsed from the date of his arrest. 4 Concerned about that possibility, the prosecutor said:

“[I]f we get to the point where we’re [going to] release him, the state’s going to request a bench trial before the 13th on the contempt charge and just sever it from the other ones. Because, frankly, I — I think he’s dangerous on the street, Your Honor.”

After determining that defendant was not willing to waive the 60-day trial deadline, the court, without expressly ruling on the continuance request, then sent the parties back to the court assigned to handle domestic-violence-related cases, noting that that court could set a trial date on the contempt charge “within a week probably on their docket.”

Before the domestic-violence court, the prosecutor, after explaining the circumstances above, stated:

“So, I think we’re at the point where either if [defendant] is unwilling to waive, the State is going to request that the trial be bifurcated and that the Court hear the contempt of court charge on or before the 13th of February because, frankly, he’s already * * * given some indication that he intends to [flee].”

*79 Defense counsel responded,

“I think that the purpose that it was brought back over to this courtroom this morning was that [the prosecutor] said he wanted to sever off the contempt count. Judge Bassinger felt that you would have more flexibility in terms of dates. And so I think that it was brought over here to
* * * *
“* * * set a date. I mean, I think the issue with the 60 days is it’s — it ran out as of today, and so I think he has to be conditionally released.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
234 P.3d 1073, 236 Or. App. 74, 2010 Ore. App. LEXIS 671, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-potter-orctapp-2010.