State v. Stroup

620 P.2d 1359, 290 Or. 185, 1980 Ore. LEXIS 1236
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 9, 1980
DocketNO. 78-32999, CA 16139, SC 27010
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 620 P.2d 1359 (State v. Stroup) 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. Stroup, 620 P.2d 1359, 290 Or. 185, 1980 Ore. LEXIS 1236 (Or. 1980).

Opinions

[187]*187TONGUE, J.

Defendant was convicted of driving a motor vehicle while his operator’s license had been suspended, in violation of ORS 487.560CL).1 He appealed to the Court of Appeals contending, among other things, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction in that the state had failed to prove that the Motor Vehicle Division had previously mailed to the defendant notice that his operator’s license had been suspended, as required by its own rules, by ORS 482.570,2 and also as a matter of constitutional due process.

In response, it was contended by the state that under the provisions of ORS 487.560(1) it had the burden to prove in its opening case only (1) that defendant was driving upon a highway and (2) that at the time his license was suspended; that under the provisions of ORS 487.560(2)(b) it is an affirmative defense, to be proved by defendant, that he had not received notice of his suspension,3 and that, in any event, requirements of due process [188]*188were satisfied because the license of this defendant had been suspended for "failure to appear in court” under ORS 484.2104 and after receiving notice by a Uniform Traffic Citation, as then required by ORS 484.150(7), to the effect that if he failed to appear in court his license was subject to suspension.5 The Court of Appeals affirmed defendant’s conviction without opinion. We allowed defendant’s petition for review because of the importance of the questions raised by these conflicting contentions.

[189]*189 The Facts of Record

Prior to trial defendant gave the state notice in writing of his intention to rely on the defense of lack of notice of suspension. A jury was waived and the case was tried to the court. In its opening case the state offered the testimony of a police officer who testified that on October 7, 1978, he observed defendant slumped over the steering wheel of a car in a parking lot; that he asked defendant for identification, and that defendant then produced an expired driver’s license with an incorrect address.

A tape recording of an exchange between the defendant and the officer was admitted into evidence in the [190]*190state’s case in chief in which the officer asked defendant if he had been receiving his mail; that upon being told "Yeah” the officer asked defendant if he was "aware that (his) license (was) suspended,” and that defendant said "No.” The defendant told the officer that he had moved from Springfield to Eugene in March or April (1978); that he "just never got around to” having the address changed on his license and that the reason why he had not done so was that he had been working six to seven days a week. It was stipulated that defendant had been driving on a public street.

The state offered in evidence a certified copy of the order of suspension, which was dated August 3, 1978, and stated that defendant’s license was "suspended, effective (August 23, 1978) for an indefinite period * * * based upon * * * failure to appear in court,” and that "You may request a hearing on this suspension order before a representative of the Motor Vehicles Division.” The certificate attached to the copy certified not only that it was a true copy, but that "Our records reveal that this was in full effect on 10-07-78 and was mailed to the official address of record as recorded on the Motor Vehicle Division records.” Defendant’s address, as stated in the order, was "4980 Main St., Gen. Del., Springfield, Oregon, 97477.” Defendant objected to the suspension order on the ground that no evidence had been offered by the state to show that it had been mailed as required by ORS 482.570.6 That objection was overruled.

The state also offered in evidence a mailing envelope to show that the suspension order had been mailed to defendant’s address as shown on that order. Defendant objected, challenging the correctness of the address. The court then ruled that the exhibit was not relevant until the defendant put on his affirmative defense that he had not received notice of the suspension. The state then withdrew that exhibit.

When the state rested, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on the ground that there was no evidence that the suspension order had been mailed to defendant as required by agency rule, statute, and due process and upon [191]*191the ground that ORS 487.560(2) was unconstitutional. That motion was denied.

Defendant’s wife then testified that she and the defendant had never "had an address of 4980 Main Street, Gen. Del., Springfield, Ore.,” as shown on the suspension order. She admitted, however, that defendant had lived at 4980 Main Street in Springfield, Oregon.

Defendant also offered in evidence a motor vehicle registration in defendant’s name showing an address of 4980 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon, 97477 (without the reference to General Delivery). The court sustained an objection by the state on the ground of relevance. Defendant himself did not testify.

The trial court found the defendant to be guilty, and held that the affirmative defense had not been proved. Defendant then filed a Motion in Arrest of Judgment, which was denied.

Defendant’s Contentions

Defendant contends that a suspension of a driver’s license under ORS 487.560 is not valid until notice has been mailed as required by ORS 482.570. Defendant also contends that proof of suspension is necessary in order for the state to prove its case in chief; that failure of the state to prove the mailing of notice means that it has not proved an element necessary for the crime of "driving while suspended” and that the defendant must therefore be found not guilty.

Defendant urges three separate grounds to support those contentions: (1) The Motor Vehicles Division must comply with its agency rules, which require notice; (2) the Motor Vehicles Division must comply with statutory provisions governing it, which require the mailing of notice of a suspension and failure to do so makes agency action invalid; and (3) due process requires that notice of a suspension be mailed before a suspension is valid.7

[192]*1921. No Agency Rules Require Notice of the Entry of an Order of Suspension Before the Suspension is Valid

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
620 P.2d 1359, 290 Or. 185, 1980 Ore. LEXIS 1236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stroup-or-1980.