Justia Oregon Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Petitioners sought review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 31 (2014). IP 31 ("Oregon Lottery Local Control Act") was a proposed constitutional amendment that would dedicate 50 percent of state lottery net proceeds to a "county revenue distribution fund." IP 31 would amend the Oregon Constitution to provide that "50% of the net proceeds from the State Lottery shall be deposited in a county revenue distribution fund to be created by the Legislative Assembly." Upon review, the Supreme Court found that IP 31's the caption did not reasonably identify the subject matter of the measure as required by Oregon law. Therefore the Court referred the caption to the Attorney General for modification. View "Milne v. Rosenblum" on Justia Law

In 2005, the Oregon Legislature added a new exception to the prohibition against the admission of hearsay evidence. Throughout the litigation, defendant argued that his wife's hearsay statements did not come within the terms of that exception and that, if they did, admitting her statements violated his rights under the state and federal constitutions. The trial court disagreed, a jury convicted defendant of aggravated murder. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals decision and the trial court's judgment. View "Oregon v. Supanchick" on Justia Law

A jury convicted defendant of possession of a weapon by an inmate. The State conceded on appeal that the trial court erred when it denied defendant's request that it instruct the jury on a lesser-included offense of attempted possession of a weapon by an inmate. The Court of Appeals rejected the State's argument that the error was harmless and reversed. Finding no reversible error in the Court of Appeals' decision, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "State v. Zolotoff" on Justia Law

Initiative Petition 30, if adopted, would have changed the minimum tax corporations paid: it would have eliminated the current cap on minimum taxes, and changed the cap on certain others. Petitioners sought review of the certified ballot title for IP 30 (2014). After the Supreme Court conducted its review, the Court referred the caption, “yes” and “no” result statements and the initiative summary back to the Attorney General for further modification. View "McCann / Harmon v. Rosenblum" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant James Watson's motion to suppress evidence. Police stopped defendant to investigate a traffic violation but decided not to issue a citation. Defendant was nevertheless detained, and he argued that that detention was a violation of his constitutional rights. Police would uncover marijuana, cocaine and related paraphernalia inside defendant's car. After review of the trial court's record, the Supreme Court concluded that the detention was for further investigation, and was reasonably related to the traffic stop.View "Oregon v. Watson" on Justia Law

Four cases challenged the constitutionality of Senate Bill (SB) 822, which was passed by the 2013 Legislative Assembly during its regular session, and SB 861, passed during a special session in October 2013. Both bills changed certain statutory provisions of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) and, in doing so, affected the retirement benefits of some current and former public employees. Central Oregon Irrigation District (the District), an intervenor in these proceedings, filed a motion to disqualify the sitting judges of the Oregon Supreme Court from hearing these cases. The District also filed a separate motion to disqualify the circuit judge appointed by the Supreme Court to serve as a special master for purposes of conducting evidentiary proceedings and preparing recommended findings of fact. Because disqualification would leave petitioners without a tribunal to decide their claims, and in light of the legislature's express grant of jurisdiction to the Supreme Court to decide challenges to the 2013 PERS legislation, the Court concluded that the rule of necessity applied and that the members of Court were not disqualified from deciding these cases because of any interest in the proceeding. Further, the application of the rule of necessity in these circumstances was not a denial of due process. Central Oregon Irrigation District's motions to disqualify the members of the Supreme Court and the Special Master on this matter was denied. View "Moro v. Oregon" on Justia Law

Petitioner was convicted for the 1989 killing of the Department of Corrections director. At the time, Oregon law provided two sentencing options for aggravated murder: death or life with the possibility of parole (ordinary life). Petitioner contended that he received inadequate assistance of counsel at the time of his criminal trial, specifically that he was not told he had the right to object to a new sentencing law to his case on ex post facto grounds. The post-conviction court found that as a matter of fact, petitioner did not established that the advice would have made a difference. The appellate court and Supreme Courts affirmed that decision.View "Gable v. Oregon" on Justia Law

The issue before the Supreme Court in this matter centered on what constitutes a reprieve under the Oregon Constitution. After the Court affirmed Plaintiff-Respondent Gary Haugen's aggravated murder conviction and death sentence, he dropped all appeals, and the trial court set an execution date. The Governor subsequently issued a reprieve suspending Defendant's sentence for the duration of the Governor's term. Defendant purported to reject the reprieve, and sought to have it declared ineffective and invalid. The trial court held that a reprieve must be accepted to be effective and ruled the Governor's reprieve ineffective. The Governor appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded the reprieve was valid and effective regardless of whether Defendant rejected it, and accordingly reversed the trial court.View "Haugen v. Kitzhaber" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction for resisting arrest, raising, among other issues, two claims that the trial court erred in instructing the jury. The Court of Appeals concluded that it was barred from reviewing those claims by ORCP 5 59 H. The Supreme Court allowed defendant's petition for review to consider whether ORCP 59 H applied to and controlled appellate court review of claims of instructional error, including claims of "plain error." Finding that it does not, the Court reversed and remanded the case back to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings. View "Oregon v. Vanornum" on Justia Law

This case arose out of a dispute over a cell phone. The victim sold defendant a cell phone with prepaid minutes. Defendant made a down payment when he got the phone and agreed to pay the balance in the future. When defendant failed to pay the balance owed, the victim contacted the cell phone provider and caused the remaining prepaid minutes to be cancelled. A jury found defendant guilty of third-degree assault. The trial court's instructions permitted the jury to find defendant liable for that crime either as the principal or as an accomplice. Throughout the litigation, defendant argued that, as a matter of statutory and constitutional law, the jurors had to agree on which role he played in the assault: Did he hit the victim, or did he aid and abet the person who did? The trial court declined to give defendant's requested instruction on that issue, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. After its review, the Supreme Court found it was harmless error to decline defendant's jury instruction. . View "Oregon v. Phillips" on Justia Law