State v. Uroza-Zuniga

402 P.3d 772, 287 Or. App. 214, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 932
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 2, 2017
DocketC141815CR; A159939
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 402 P.3d 772 (State v. Uroza-Zuniga) 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. Uroza-Zuniga, 402 P.3d 772, 287 Or. App. 214, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 932 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

WILSON, S. J.

Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for unlawful possession of methamphetamine, ORS 475.894. He raises a single assignment of error on appeal, arguing that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence that police officers obtained following defendant’s arrest for violating a Beaverton city ordinance that prohibits drinking alcohol in a “public place,” as defined in Beaverton City Code (BCC) 5.02.083. Defendant asserts that his arrest, and the subsequent inventory of his wallet, was unlawful because state law—specifically ORS 430.402— preempts BCC 5.02.083. Therefore, according to defendant, the Oregon Constitution requires suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of the arrest. In the alternative, defendant argues that the city may not establish a criminal penalty for a violation of that ordinance because BCC 5.02.083 imposes a greater punishment than the state imposes for substantially similar conduct under Oregon’s “open container” law, ORS 811.170. In response, the state contends that ORS 430.402 specifically permits the type of ordinance that the city adopted. Further, the state argues that ORS 811.170 and BCC 5.02.083 are different in specifics and in essence. We agree with the state and, accordingly, affirm.

FACTS

We state the facts consistently with the trial court’s explicit and implicit factual findings, which the record supports. See State v. Suppah, 358 Or 565, 567 n 1, 369 P3d 1108 (2016) (applying that standard in reviewing denial of suppression motion). On August 6, 2014, Beaverton police officer Coplin responded to a Plaid Pantry store to investigate a report of people drinking in the parking lot. Upon arriving, Coplin saw three men standing around a car and a van drinking beer. As he approached the men, Coplin saw defendant place a bottle of beer inside the van. A second officer arrived as backup, and Coplin received consent from the men to search the vehicles and found four open beer bottles. Coplin placed all three men under arrest for violating BCC 5.02.083(A), which prohibits consumption of alcohol in public places, and states, in relevant part,

[217]*217“No person shall consume alcoholic liquor or possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage while in or upon any public place, unless authorized by the [Oregon Liquor Control] Commission or by subsection B of this section.”

An inventory of defendant’s wallet at the Beaverton police station revealed methamphetamine.

The state charged defendant by information with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, ORS 475.894. Defendant filed a pretrial motion to suppress the evidence, pursuant to Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution, on the grounds that his arrest was unlawful and that the evidence derived from his illegal seizure must be suppressed.1 In his motion, defendant argued that BCC 5.02.083, which provided probable cause for his arrest, “unconstitutionally conflicts with a state law” namely ORS 430.402. That statute provides, in relevant part,

“(1) A political subdivision in this state shall not adopt or enforce any local law or regulation that makes any of the following an offense, a violation or the subject of criminal or civil penalties or sanctions of any kind:
«⅜ ‡‡⅜‡
“(b) Public drinking, except as to places where any consumption of alcoholic beverages is generally prohibited.”

In response to defendant’s motion, the court stated that BCC 5.02.083 “does not violate ORS 430.402” because the code falls squarely within the exception expressly stated in subsection (l)(b). In other words, the court concluded that the “Beaverton City Code can do exactly what it did.” As a result, the trial court denied the motion to suppress, and defendant waived his right to a jury trial. The case was tried to the court on stipulated facts. Ultimately, the court found defendant guilty and sentenced him to 18 months of probation. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

On appeal, we are bound by the trial court’s findings of historical fact if constitutionally sufficient evidence in the [218]*218record supports those findings; our function, on review, is to decide whether the trial court applied legal principles correctly to those facts. State v. Ehly, 317 Or 66, 75, 854 P2d 421 (1993).

ANALYSIS

The first question presented by this case is whether BCC 5.02.083 conflicts with ORS 430.402(l)(b) and is, therefore, unconstitutional as preempted by state law. Under Article XI, section 2, of the Oregon Constitution, Oregon’s municipalities may not enact ordinances that “conflict” with state laws.2 City of Portland v. Jackson, 316 Or 143, 146, 850 P2d 1093 (1993). “An ordinance is said to ‘conflict’ with a state statute if the ordinance either prohibits conduct that the statute permits, or permits conduct that the statute prohibits.” State v. Krueger, 208 Or App 166, 169, 144 P3d 1007 (2006). Although statutes are not typically written in terms of permitted conduct (i.e., statutes are typically written in terms of prohibited conduct), we have noted that when the state legislature expressly permits specified conduct, by implication local governments may not prohibit that conduct, and a conflict resulting in preemption can exist. Jackson, 316 Or at 147.

Jackson laid out the analysis used to identify such a conflict. We “first must examine the ordinance and statutes that the parties claim are in conflict.” Id. at 151. Second, “we determine what conduct the ordinance prohibits.” Id. Third, “we look to see whether the applicable statute * * * permit,[s] that conduct[.]” Id. (emphasis in original). Finally, “[i]f the ordinance prohibits conduct that the statute permits, the laws are in conflict and the ordinance is displaced under Article XI, section 2.” Id.

We again quote the ordinance and statute at issue. Defendant was charged with public drinking under BCC 5.02.083, which provides, in relevant part,

[219]*219“No person shall consume alcoholic liquor or possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage while in or upon any public place, unless authorized by the [Oregon Liquor Control] Commission or by [a written permit issued by the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District for use in a park].”

The ordinance goes on to define “public place” as

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Related

Ungerman and Ungerman
492 P.3d 1280 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2021)
State v. Uroza-Zuniga
439 P.3d 973 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
402 P.3d 772, 287 Or. App. 214, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 932, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-uroza-zuniga-orctapp-2017.