State v. Reed

538 P.3d 195, 371 Or. 478
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 19, 2023
DocketS069360
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 538 P.3d 195 (State v. Reed) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Reed, 538 P.3d 195, 371 Or. 478 (Or. 2023).

Opinion

478 October 19, 2023 No. 29

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

STATE OF OREGON, Respondent on Review, v. DEBORAH LYNN REED, Petitioner on Review. (CC 19CR12088, 18CR64481) (CA A170999, A171000) (SC S069360)

On review from the Court of Appeals.* Argued and submitted December 1, 2022. Morgen E. Daniels, Deputy Public Defender, Office of Public Defense Services, Salem, argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner on review. Also on the briefs was Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender. Peenesh Shah, Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent on review. Also on the brief were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. Before Flynn, Chief Justice, and Duncan, Garrett, DeHoog, Bushong, James, and Masih, Justices.** DUNCAN, J. The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The judgments of the circuit court are reversed, and the cases are remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.

______________ * Appeal from Lincoln County Circuit Court, Sheryl Bachart, Judge. 317 Or App 453, 505 P3d 444 (2022). ** Balmer, J., retired December 31, 2022, and did not participate in the deci- sion of this case. Walters, J., retired December 31, 2022, participated at oral argument, but did not participate in the decision of this case. Nelson, J., resigned February 25, 2023, and did not participate in the decision of this case. Cite as 371 Or 478 (2023) 479 480 State v. Reed

DUNCAN, J. Defendant moved to suppress evidence resulting from a police interrogation. In her motion, defendant asserted that police officers violated Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution when they interrogated her in compelling cir- cumstances without first advising her of her Miranda rights. The trial court denied the motion, ruling that the interroga- tion did not occur in compelling circumstances. The case pro- ceeded to a bench trial, and the trial court convicted defendant of multiple drug offenses. Thereafter, defendant’s probation in an earlier case was revoked based in part on the evidence resulting from the interrogation and her new convictions. Defendant appealed both the judgment of conviction and the judgment revoking her probation, challenging the trial court’s conclusion that the interrogation did not occur in compelling circumstances. The appeals were consolidated, and the Court of Appeals affirmed both judgments. State v. Reed, 317 Or App 453, 455, 505 P3d 444 (2022). On review, we reverse and remand. As we explain below, the interroga- tion occurred in compelling circumstances, specifically: • defendant was on probation and subject to con- ditions that, among other things, required her to obey all laws, report to her probation officer, answer all reasonable inquiries by her probation officer, and consent to searches at her probation officer’s request if he had reasonable grounds to believe that evidence of a probation violation would be found; • two police officers interrupted a mandatory meet- ing between defendant and her probation officer in the probation officer’s office; • defendant was not free to leave the office without her probation officer’s permission, and, because the office was in a secured building, she could not exit the building on her own; • the police officers told both defendant and the pro- bation officer that they wanted them to stay in the office; and the police officers accused defendant of new crimes. Cite as 371 Or 478 (2023) 481

Altogether, those circumstances were compelling. Therefore, the police officers were required to advise defendant of her Miranda rights before interrogating her. Because they failed to do so, evidence resulting from the interrogation must be suppressed. I. HISTORICAL AND PROCEDURAL FACTS The interrogation at issue in this case occurred while defendant was on probation and subject to statutory probation conditions, including that she “[o]bey all laws,” “[r]eport as required and abide by the direction of the super- vising officer,” “[p]romptly and truthfully answer all reason- able inquiries by the Department of Corrections or a county community corrections agency,” and “[c]onsent to the search of person, vehicle or premises upon the request of a represen- tative of the supervising officer if the supervising officer has reasonable grounds to believe that evidence of a violation will be found.” ORS 137.540. If defendant’s probation officer had reasonable grounds to believe that defendant had violated the conditions of her probation, he could arrest her imme- diately. See ORS 133.239(2) (authorizing a probation officer to arrest a probationer); ORS 137.545(2) (providing that a probationer may be arrested without a warrant for violating any condition of probation); ORS 144.350(1)(a) (authorizing a probation officer to order a probationer’s arrest “upon being informed and having reasonable grounds to believe” that the probationer violated the conditions of probation).1 If a court determined that defendant had violated the conditions of her probation, it could revoke her probation and sentence her to 19 to 20 months in prison. On the day of the interrogation, defendant was meeting with her probation officer, Eoff, in a small room at the probation office. Defendant’s attendance at the meeting was mandatory. She could not leave the meeting without Eoff’s permission. Moreover, because the probation office was secured, defendant was not free to move around the office alone. She had to be escorted at all times. 1 A probation officer may lawfully arrest a probationer upon a lesser quan- tum of proof than would be required for a police officer to arrest someone. See State v. Gulley, 324 Or 57, 65, 921 P2d 396 (1996) (“ ‘[R]easonable grounds’ means a quantum of information that is greater than that which would justify a ‘stop,’ but less than that required for ‘probable cause.’ ”). 482 State v. Reed

Two police officers came to the room where defen- dant and Eoff were meeting. They asked defendant and Eoff if they could speak with them, and defendant and Eoff agreed. Eoff asked them if they wanted him to excuse defen- dant so that they could talk with her alone. They said no and that they wanted to talk to both defendant and Eoff. Eoff did not excuse defendant. Eoff had not finished his meeting with defendant, so defendant was not free to leave his office. One of the police officers stood in the doorway, and the other slid past him and sat down in the room. The police officers did not advise defendant of her Miranda rights. Nor did they tell her that she could terminate their questioning. The police officers confronted defendant. They told her that they “knew everything that was happening.” Defendant was on probation for drug-related crimes, and the police officers told her that they “knew she was selling drugs again.” They stated that they had information that she had sold drugs earlier that day. They also accused her of possessing drugs as they spoke. They demanded to know “how much she had on her.” Defendant denied having drugs on her and stated that the officers could search her person and her purse. One of the officers asked defendant if he could search her car, and defendant gave him her keys. Defendant made incriminating statements. Then, about two minutes into the interrogation, the officer with defendant’s keys left to search defendant’s car. During the search, the officer dis- covered evidence of drug-related crimes.

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Bluebook (online)
538 P.3d 195, 371 Or. 478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-reed-or-2023.