State v. Upton

125 P.3d 713, 339 Or. 673, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 814
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 30, 2005
DocketCC 04-419; SC S52316
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 125 P.3d 713 (State v. Upton) 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. Upton, 125 P.3d 713, 339 Or. 673, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 814 (Or. 2005).

Opinion

*675 DE MUNIZ, J.

This is an original mandamus proceeding. The issue it presents is whether a trial court has the authority under Oregon law to submit certain “sentence enhancement factors” 1 to a jury for factual determination as required under the Sixth Amendment principles articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 US 466, 120 S Ct 2348, 147 L Ed 2d 435 (2000) and Blakely v. Washington, 542 US 296, 124 S Ct 2531, 159 L Ed 2d 403 (2004).

Defendant is charged in a six-count “second superseding indictment” with racketeering (ORS 166.720), two counts of first-degree aggravated theft (ORS 164.057), one count of first-degree attempted aggravated theft, one count of first-degree forgery (ORS 165.013), and one count of falsifying business records (ORS 165.080). The indictment alleges that defendant committed the offenses between August 15, 2003 and April 15, 2004. Each felony count of the indictment also alleges:

“The state further alleges the aggravating factors of persistent involvement based on the following convictions: 1) December 22, 1980, Fresno County, California Superior Count, Grand Theft - 2 Counts; 2) February 2, 1981, Fresno County, California Superior Court, Theft by Fraud; 3) March 25, 1886, Washoe County, Nevada District Court, Attempt to Obtain Money under False Pretenses, Obtaining Signature by False Pretenses - 2 Counts; 4) June 7, 1991, Eldorado County, California Superior Court, Vehicle Theft; 5) September 13, 1991, Santa Barbara, California Superior Court, Grand Theft; 6) October 4, 1993, Kootenani County, Idaho District Court, Grand Theft.”

In addition, counts 1, 2, and 3 of the indictment further allege the aggravating factor of “vulnerable victim.” Oregon sentencing guidelines identify the aggravating or sentence *676 enhancement factors alleged in the indictment as justification for the imposition of sentences that exceed the presumptive sentence for each of the felony counts. 2 OAR 213-008-0002(l)(b)(B), (D). 3

Defendant demurred to the indictment, arguing that aggravating factors could not be alleged in the indictment because an Oregon trial court had no statutory authority to submit an aggravating or enhancing factor to a jury as required under the Sixth Amendment. The trial court refused to dismiss defendant’s indictment but nevertheless concluded that “[defendant's involvement in past crimes as well as the language regarding vulnerable victim may not be submitted to the jury.” The state petitioned for a writ of mandamus and this court issued an alternative writ of mandamus commanding the trial court either to vacate its order or show cause for not doing so. The trial court declined to vacate its order. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that a trial court may submit the determination of sentence enhancement factors to a jury as required under the Sixth Amendment.

After we issued the alternative writ of mandamus in this case, the governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 528 (2005), which authorizes a court to submit to a jury what the bill describes as “enhancement facts.” Or Laws 2005, ch 463. *677 Under SB 528, an “enhancement fact” is a “fact that is constitutionally required to be found by a jury in order to increase the sentence that may be imposed upon conviction of a crime.” Or Laws 2005, ch 463, § 1(2). The new law provides that the state must give notice to a defendant that it intends to rely on an enhancement fact by pleading the enhancement fact in the accusatory instrument, or by other timely written notice. Or Laws 2005, ch 463, § 2. An enhancement fact that relates to a charged offense, must be submitted to a jury, unless a defendant waives a jury determination of that fact. Or Laws 2005, ch 463, § 3.

Because of the potential impact of SB 528 on this and many other pending cases, this court requested that the parties file supplemental briefs addressing SB 528. The parties have done so ably. Defendant contends that SB 528 does not provide authority to submit the determination of aggravating factors to a jury in this case, and that, in any event, SB 528 is unconstitutional for several reasons. Before discussing defendant’s constitutional challenges, we observe that defendant’s arguments regarding SB 528 are based primarily on defendant’s assumption that a trial court lacked authority to empanel a sentencing jury before the enactment of SB 528. Defendant contends that, before SB 528 was enacted, there was no statutory authorization for a trial court to empanel a jury to decide facts solely for sentencing purposes. According to defendant, whether trial courts may empanel a jury for that purpose depends on whether the legislature granted courts that authority in the sentencing guidelines. According to defendant, that authority does not exist. We now turn to that question.

We begin with two pertinent criminal trial statutes that delineate the jury’s function. ORS 136.030 and ORS 136.320 provide that questions of fact are for the jury. ORS 136.030 provides:

“An issue of law shall be tried by the judge of the court and an issue of fact by a jury of the court in which the action is triable.”

*678 Similarly, ORS 136.320 provides:

“Although the jury may find a general verdict, which includes questions of law as well as fact, it is bound, nevertheless, to receive as law what is laid down as such by the court; but all questions of fact, other than those mentioned in ORS 136.310, shall be decided by the jury, and all evidence thereon addressed to it.” 4

Read together, ORS 136.030 and ORS 136.320 thus authorize the trial court to submit “all questions of fact” to the jury that a criminal defendant is entitled to have the jury decide.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
125 P.3d 713, 339 Or. 673, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-upton-or-2005.