Justia Oregon Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Petitioners Gail Rasmussen and Bethanne Darby sought review of a certified ballot title for âInitiative Petition 12 (2012).â The proposed measure, if approved by the voters, would amend the state constitution to require elections officials to count every qualified voterâs signature on an initiative or referendum petition. Additionally, it would prevent the application of laws intended to prevent forgery or fraud in circulating petitions from being used to count âgoodâ signatures. Petitioners contended that the phrase âcreates enforceable rightâ in the caption printed on the ballot is misleading. The Attorney General responded that it was limited in the number of words it could put in the title, and that the phrase was simply an efficient choice of words. The Supreme Court was ânot persuaded that the applicable word limit compels the use of the phrase,â and remanded the ballot title back to the Attorney Generalâs office for modification.

Defendant Bobby Guggenmos appealed the Court of Appealsâ decision that affirmed his conviction for possession of a controlled substance. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress drug-related evidence seized by the police from his bedroom. Officers, without a warrant, searched Defendantâs bedroom in a house they believed to be involved in drug trafficking. An informant had stated that persons in the house hid known criminals there. The state charged Defendant with possession based on the evidence found after the officersâ search of the house. Defendant claimed that the officerâs âprotective sweepâ of his home violated his Fourth Amendment rights. After an exhaustive review of the record, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate courtâs decision, finding that the officers did not have probable cause to search Defendantâs home. The Court remanded the case to the circuit court for further proceedings.