State v. Ralston

486 P.3d 822, 310 Or. App. 470
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedApril 7, 2021
DocketA165924
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 486 P.3d 822 (State v. Ralston) 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. Ralston, 486 P.3d 822, 310 Or. App. 470 (Or. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Argued and submitted January 17, 2019; portion of judgment requiring defendant to pay a $2,255 DUII fine vacated, remanded for resentencing, otherwise affirmed April 7, 2021

STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. CHRISTOPHER SHANE RALSTON, aka Christopher Wayne Ralston, Defendant-Appellant. Multnomah County Circuit Court 16CR33180; A165924 486 P3d 822

Defendant appeals his conviction for driving under the influence of intox- icants. In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because his right to a speedy trial under Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution was violated from a 14-month delay that resulted in the loss of video evidence. In defendant’s second assign- ment, he argues, and the state concedes, that the trial court erred in imposing a $2,255 fine in the judgment when it orally imposed a $2,000 fine at sentencing. Held: As to the first assignment, the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss. Although the length of the delay factor weighs against the state in the Article I, section 10, analysis, the remaining factors do not. The unex- plained period of delay was relatively small and not intentional, the remaining period of delay was reasonable and justified, and defendant failed to establish a reasonable possibility of prejudice. While there is some probability that the miss- ing evidence was favorable, whether that missing evidence can be shown to be material is uncertain. As to the second assignment, the Court of Appeals agreed with and accepted the state’s concession that the trial court erred in imposing a fine in the judgment in an amount that exceeded its oral pronouncement in court. Portion of judgment requiring defendant to pay a $2,255 DUII fine vacated; remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed.

Richard Baldwin, Senior Judge. Kyle Krohn, Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant. Also on the brief was Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate Section, Office of Public Defense Services. Peenesh Shah, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. Also on the brief were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. Cite as 310 Or App 470 (2021) 471

Before Powers, Presiding Judge, and Egan, Chief Judge, and James, Judge. JAMES, J. Portion of judgment requiring defendant to pay a $2,255 DUII fine vacated; remanded for resentencing; otherwise affirmed. 472 State v. Ralston

JAMES, J. Following a conditional guilty plea, defendant was convicted of felony driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). ORS 813.010(1);1 ORS 813.011. Defendant appeals that judgment, raising two assignments of error. In his first assignment, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because his right to a speedy trial under Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution2 was violated from a 14-month delay that resulted in the loss of video evidence. For reasons we later explain, we reject that argument and affirm. In defendant’s second assign- ment, he challenges the trial court’s imposition of a $2,255 fine in the judgment when it orally imposed a $2,000 fine at sentencing. We agree with and accept the state’s conces- sion that the trial court erred in that regard. We therefore vacate the portion of the judgment imposing the $2,255 fine, remand for resentencing, and otherwise affirm. The following facts are largely procedural and undisputed.3 At 12:29 a.m. on June 3, 2016, Officer Nafie stopped defendant’s vehicle for failing to maintain a lane. Nafie smelled a strong odor of alcohol and noticed that defen- dant’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and that his speech was slurred. There were multiple open containers in the back of defendant’s vehicle, he admitted to having a few drinks,4 and he declined to perform field sobriety tests (FSTs). At 12:40 a.m., Nafie arrested defendant and transported him to the police station. At 2:06 a.m., defendant refused to submit 1 ORS 813.010 was amended subsequent to the pertinent events in this case. See Or Laws 2017, ch 21, § 80. However, because the conduct in this case occurred before the effective date of those amendments, and because those changes are not otherwise relevant to this appeal, they do not apply to this case. See Or Laws 2017, ch 21, § 127 (amendments “apply to conduct occurring on and after the effective date of this 2017 Act”). 2 Article I, section 10, provides: “No court shall be secret, but justice shall be administered, openly and without purchase, completely and without delay, and every man shall have remedy by due course of law for injury done him in his person, property, or reputation.” 3 What occurred during the stop is taken from the police report, which is not part of the record. However, the parties summarized that report in their legal memoranda related to defendant’s motion to dismiss before the trial court, and those facts are not contested on appeal. 4 It is unclear whether it was before or after his arrest that defendant admit- ted to drinking, but resolution of that fact is not necessary to our analysis. Cite as 310 Or App 470 (2021) 473

to a breath test and, at 2:32 a.m., defendant was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) on the charge of misdemeanor DUII, ORS 813.010.5 The same day that defendant was booked into MCDC, he was arraigned on charges of misdemeanor DUII and reckless driving, held in custody, and given a future court date of July 8, 2016. On or around that same day, the misdemeanor Deputy District Attorney (DDA) handling defendant’s case informed a felony DDA within the office that defendant might have prior DUII convictions that would enhance the DUII to a felony and indicated that she would order defendant’s prior convictions. See ORS 813.011 (providing that DUII is a Class C felony when a defendant has at least two prior DUII convictions within 10 years of the date of the current offense). On June 8, defense coun- sel appeared at the Multnomah County Circuit Court’s Criminal Procedures Court (CPC) and requested a hearing for defendant to enter a plea to the misdemeanor charge. However, at that plea hearing, the state dismissed the case because it had determined that it was likely to proceed as a felony. Defendant was also released from custody. On June 9, the felony DDA received defendant’s file that included copies of defendant’s certified prior DUII convictions. Approximately one month later, on July 8, the felony DDA reviewed defendant’s file and confirmed that defendant’s DUII should be charged as a felony. On July 19, a grand jury indicted defendant for felony DUII, ORS 813.011, and reckless driving, ORS 811.140, and the court issued a warrant for defendant’s arrest. On July 20, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) entered the warrant into various local and

5 ORS 813.010

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Related

State v. Ralston
520 P.3d 866 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2022)

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Bluebook (online)
486 P.3d 822, 310 Or. App. 470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ralston-orctapp-2021.