State v. Taylor

311 P.3d 953, 258 Or. App. 737, 2013 WL 5561094, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1200
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedOctober 9, 2013
Docket10CR042; A147423
StatusPublished

This text of 311 P.3d 953 (State v. Taylor) 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. Taylor, 311 P.3d 953, 258 Or. App. 737, 2013 WL 5561094, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1200 (Or. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ORTEGA, P. J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction for failure to appear in the second degree. ORS 162.195. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal “on the basis that the security release agreement defendant signed was an unsworn statement and therefore not a ‘security release’ or ‘release agreement’ as used in ORS 162.195, failure to appear in the second degree.” We conclude that the trial court correctly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal and, therefore, affirm.

When reviewing the trial court’s denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal, this court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the state, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Lupoli, 348 Or 346, 366, 234 P3d 117 (2010). Accordingly, we state the background facts in the light most favorable to the state.

Defendant, who was in custody on an underlying criminal charge, requested release. The court, upon review of the request, found that release on personal recognizance was unwarranted and set defendant’s bail at $5,000. As part of its order, the court also set several “security release additional terms.” (Capitalization omitted.) Defendant then signed a “security release” document which provided that, “[a]s conditions of [his] release from custody,” defendant “promise [d] and agree [d]” (among other things) to appear in court on a particular date and time and “thereafter as ordered by the Court until discharged or final order of the Court.” The security-release document also provided that defendant was required to post security of $500 in cash or cashier’s check. Immediately above defendant’s signature, the document contained the following statement:

“I agree to obey the conditions above. I understand that if I violate the conditions, my release may be revoked and an arrest warrant issued. If I fail to appear, I may be charged with a new crime of contempt of court.”

Several times during the course of the criminal proceedings, defendant was not present in court when his case [739]*739was called. On a number of those occasions, he appeared later on the same day or the next day. On one occasion, at a trial readiness conference set for September 2, 2010, defendant called the court and stated that he was running late. However, he did not appear in court that day. Defendant ultimately was charged with several counts of second-degree failure to appear. Because defendant was acquitted on all the charges except one, only the charge on which defendant was convicted arising out of the September 2 nonappearance is at issue on appeal.1

At the close of the state’s case, defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal, asserting that he could not be convicted of failure to appear because the document he signed was not a “sworn writing” and, therefore, did not meet the definition of a release agreement under ORS 135.230(9). The court took the motion under advisement and then later heard additional argument on the motion. Ultimately, the court issued a letter opinion denying defendant’s motion. It observed that the security-release document did “not contain any language that [it was] signed after the administration of an oath.” However, it reasoned that a

“‘Security Release’ means a release conditioned on a promise to appear in court at all appropriate times, which is secured by cash, stocks, bonds or real property.
“In this case, *** [the release was] conditioned on a promise to appear, secured by cash, that is, $500.00 ***. [The document] is specifically marked as a ‘security release’ in the checked box in the upper right hand corner of the exhibit.”

The court concluded that “a ‘security release’ does not require a ‘sworn writing’ ” and because defendant “in this case posted bail and was released pursuant to [a] security release[], no ‘sworn writing’ was used or required.”

[740]*740On appeal, defendant asserts that a sworn writing was required in order for him to be convicted for second-degree failure to appear pursuant to ORS 162.195. Accordingly, in defendant’s view, the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. The state responds that the court correctly denied the motion because, under the statute, no sworn writing was required.2

The parties’ arguments in this case present an issue of statutory interpretation which we resolve using the principles set forth in State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 206 P3d 1042 (2009). Thus, we look to the text of the pertinent statutes, in context, as well as any helpful legislative history. Id. at 171-72. Finally, if the statutes are ambiguous, we resolve any ambiguity by applying general canons of statutory construction. Id. at 172.

As noted, defendant was convicted of second-degree failure to appear pursuant to ORS 162.195. That statute provides:

“(1) A person commits the crime of failure to appear in the second degree if the person knowingly fails to appear as required after:
“(a) Having by court order been released from custody or a correctional facility under a release agreement or security release upon the condition that the person will subsequently appear personally in connection with a charge against the person of having committed a misdemeanor; or
“(b) Having been released from a correctional facility subject to a forced release agreement under ORS 169.046 in connection with a charge against the person of having committed a misdemeanor.”

[741]*741Although “[n]either ORS 162.195 nor any other statute in ORS chapter 162 defines” the terms “release agreement” or “security release,” State v. Tally, 184 Or App 715, 718, 57 P3d 592 (2002), those terms are defined in ORS 135.230. That provision is part of a “statutory scheme, comprising ORS 135.230 to 135.295, which provides for pretrial release of defendants,” id., and its definitions “apply to ORS 162.195,” id. at 719. Pursuant to ORS 135.230

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Related

State v. Swanson
266 P.3d 45 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Lupoli
234 P.3d 117 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Gaines
206 P.3d 1042 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2009)
Rico-Villalobos v. Giusto
118 P.3d 246 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2005)
State v. Eastman
828 P.2d 484 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1992)
Knutson v. Cupp
601 P.2d 129 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Tally
57 P.3d 592 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
311 P.3d 953, 258 Or. App. 737, 2013 WL 5561094, 2013 Ore. App. LEXIS 1200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-taylor-orctapp-2013.