State v. Snelgrove

462 P.3d 302, 302 Or. App. 485
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 26, 2020
DocketA164506
StatusPublished

This text of 462 P.3d 302 (State v. Snelgrove) 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. Snelgrove, 462 P.3d 302, 302 Or. App. 485 (Or. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Argued and submitted November 16, 2018; in A164540 and A164542, judgments of forfeiture reversed; in A164506, affirmed February 26, 2020

STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. STEVEN MAX SNELGROVE, Defendant-Appellant. Washington County Circuit Court 16CR50052; A164506 (Control) A164540, A164542 462 P3d 302

In this criminal case, defendant, who was convicted of various drug offenses, appeals from a judgment of conviction and from two judgments of forfeiture. Defendant challenges the trial court’s authority to enter judgments forfeiting $50,000 and $25,000 in security after he failed to appear at two pretrial hear- ings. Defendant asserts that, because he appeared in court within 30 days after the court entered orders forfeiting the entire security amount, the court lacked authority under ORS 135.280 to enter judgments of forfeiture for the entire secu- rity amount. Held: Nothing in the text or context of ORS 135.280(3) gives a trial court authority to enter a forfeiture judgment against a defendant who appears within 30 days of the court’s forfeiture order; rather, the statute’s text authorizes entry of a forfeiture judgment only after the 30-day window has elapsed. Because defendant appeared within 30 days of the court’s orders, the court erred in enter- ing judgments of forfeiture for the entire security amount. In A164540 and A164542, judgments of forfeiture reversed; in A164506, affirmed.

D. Charles Bailey, Jr, Judge. Kristin A. Carveth, 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. Jennifer S. Lloyd, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. On the brief were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General, and Matthew Maile, Assistant Attorney General. Before Ortega, Presiding Judge, and Powers, Judge, and Mooney, Judge.* ______________ * Mooney, J., vice Garrett, J. pro tempore. 486 State v. Snelgrove

POWERS, J. In A164540 and A164542, judgments of forfeiture reversed; in A164506, affirmed. Mooney, J., dissenting. Cite as 302 Or App 485 (2020) 487

POWERS, J. Defendant, who was convicted of various drug offenses, appeals from a judgment of conviction and from two judgments of forfeiture, challenging the trial court’s authority to enter judgments ordering $50,000 and $25,000 in security forfeited after he failed to appear at two pre- trial hearings. On appeal, defendant asserts that, because he appeared in court within 30 days after the court entered orders forfeiting the entire security amount, the trial court was not statutorily authorized to enter judgments of forfei- ture for the entire security amount. The state remonstrates that although ORS 135.280(3), which we set out in full below, specifically requires the court to enter a judgment if a defen- dant fails to appear within 30 days of an order of forfeiture, the court may nevertheless enter a forfeiture judgment even if defendant appears within the 30-day period. We review the trial court’s interpretation for errors of law and reverse the trial court’s judgments of forfeiture. The pertinent facts are undisputed. After the state charged defendant with three drug crimes, defendant was released under a $50,000 security release agreement that, among other requirements, mandated his appearance as ordered by the court until he was discharged. Defendant posted $5,000 or 10 percent of the total security amount as a deposit required by ORS 135.265(2).1 Defendant appeared for a September case management conference but failed to appear as directed for the next hearing on October 3, 2016. As a result, the trial court issued an order that provided: “This case came before the Court for PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE. The Defendant did not appear as required. There being no good cause for such failure to appear, and the Court being fully advised, it is hereby

1 ORS 135.265(2) provides, in part: “The defendant shall execute a release agreement and deposit with the clerk of the court before which the proceeding is pending a sum of money equal to 10 percent of the security amount, but in no event shall such deposit be less than $25. The clerk shall issue a receipt for the sum deposited. Upon depositing this sum the defendant shall be released from custody subject to the condition that the defendant appear to answer the charge in the court having jurisdiction on a day certain and thereafter as ordered by the court until discharged or final order of the court.” 488 State v. Snelgrove

ORDERED that Defendant’s Personal Recognizance/ Conditional/Security Release Agreement be revoked, that Defendant’s Security deposit be forfeited and judgment entered for the full amount of security release amount, and that a Bench Warrant be issued for Defendant’s failure to appear in the amount of $25,000.” (Capitalization, boldface, and italics in original.) Six days later, defendant was arrested on the warrant and appeared in custody the next day on October 10, 2016. Defendant then entered into another security release agreement in the amount of $25,000. He again posted 10 percent of the secu- rity amount, which amounted to a $2,500 deposit, and was released. Thereafter, defendant made his court appearances as required, but after his trial was reset for lack of judicial resources, he again failed to appear on January 27, 2017. The trial court issued a warrant for his arrest, entered an order forfeiting the $2,500 deposit, and ordered a judgment to be entered for the entire $25,000 in security. Eight days later, defendant was arrested on the warrant and he later appeared in court on February 6, 2017. He remained in cus- tody until he pleaded guilty to the original drug charges. At sentencing, defendant moved for an order remit- ting his security arguing that (1) there was good cause for the failures to appear because, in both instances, he had been trying to find a place to store his personal belongings in anticipation of being evicted, and (2) ORS 135.280(3) fore- closed the court’s authority to enter judgments of forfeiture because he had appeared within 30 days of the date of each failure to appear. The court denied defendant’s motion, con- cluding that good cause did not exist to set aside the orders and remit his security. The court entered the judgments of forfeiture at issue in this appeal.2 On appeal, defendant does not challenge the trial court’s determination that he failed to establish good cause 2 On appeal, the state correctly acknowledges that both judgments incor- rectly state that defendant failed to appear within 30 days of the respective for- feiture orders. As described earlier, defendant appeared—albeit only because he was arrested—within 30 days of each order. Given our disposition, however, we need not address those factual errors in the judgments. Cite as 302 Or App 485 (2020) 489

for failing to appear in October and January; rather, the issue as framed by the parties’ arguments is a narrow one: Was the trial court authorized to enter forfeiture judgments despite defendant appearing in the 30-day window created by ORS 135.280

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
462 P.3d 302, 302 Or. App. 485, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-snelgrove-orctapp-2020.