State v. Yock
State v. Yock
Opinion of the Court
Defendant appeals his conviction after jury trial of burglary in the first degree. ORS 164.225. He raises three assignments of error: (1) that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the burglary charge after his acquittal of driving while under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) allegedly arising out of the "same criminal episode” or "same act and transaction,” in violation of ORS 131.515 and Article I, § 12 of the Oregon Constitution; (2) that the court erred in admitting into evidence in defendant’s burglary trial testimony given by defendant in the DUII trial; and (3) that the sentence imposed was excessive under ORS 138.040 or otherwise violated Article I, § 15 of the Oregon Constitution. We affirm.
At approximately 3 a.m. on September 5, 1979, defendant was observed by a police officer operating his vehicle in an erratic manner on a public highway. He was stopped, placed under arrest, and charged with DUII. At the time of his arrest, defendant was shirtless and shoeless. A few minutes earlier, within a mile and a half from the location where defendant was stopped, an unidentified intruder had entered a neighborhood residence through a kitchen window. The residence was occupied by defendant’s estranged wife, her children and her mother.
After defendant was placed under arrest for DUII and given Miranda
Defendant was charged with burglary. He was first tried on the DUII charge and acquitted. Prior to the trial on the burglary charge, defendant moved to dismiss that charge on former jeopardy grounds, claiming the DUII and burglary charges arose out of the "same criminal episode” or "same act or transaction.” His motion was denied, and he was convicted after jury trial.
"Except as provided in ORS 131.525 and 131.535:
"(1) No person shall be prosecuted twice for the same offense.
"(2) No person shall be separately prosecuted for two or more offenses based upon the same criminal episode, if the several offenses are reasonably known to the appropriate prosecutor at the time of commencement of the first prosecution and establish proper venue in a single court.”2
The Supreme Court recently stated in State v. Knowles, 289 Or 803, 618 P2d 1245 (1980), that ORS 131.515 provides two "former jeopardy” protections for criminal defendants. The first, embodied in subsection (1), was intended by the legislature to restate the constitutional guarantee in Article I, § 12.
«* * * Thg policy underlying that subsection is that there should not be unnecessary separate trials stemming from conduct which constitutes more than one offense. The policy is to be effectuated by a rule of compulsory joinder. If the prosecutor fails to accomplish that joinder, the sanction for that failure is statutory prohibition of subsequent prosecutions. The subsection is not dependent upon any constitutional text or concept; the subsection is an independent method of preventing prosecutorial harassment of a defendant who has committed multiple offenses in a single criminal episode.” (Footnotes omitted.) 289 Or at 811.
We first examine defendant’s claim under subsection (2).
The term "criminal episode” is defined in ORS 131.505 as follows:
"As used in ORS 131.505 to 131.525, unless the context requires otherwise:
Hit # #
"(4) 'Criminal episode’ means continuous and uninterrupted conduct that establishes at least one offense and is so joined in time, place and circumstances that such conduct is directed to the accomplishment of a single criminal objective.
* at * * ”
In State v. Boyd, 271 Or 558, 533 P2d 795 (1975), the Supreme Court stated that the term "criminal episode” as defined in ORS 131.505(4), was synonymous with the term "same act or transaction” enunciated by the court for former jeopardy claims based on Article I, § 12 in State v. Brown, 262 Or 442, 497 P2d 1191 (1972), and subsequently defined with respect to permissive joinder of charges under ORS 132.560(2) in State v. Fitzgerald, 267 Or 266, 516 P2d 1280 (1973). In Fitzgerald, the court stated:
"We hold that the two charges arise out of the same act or transaction if they are so closely linked in time, place and circumstance that a complete account of one charge cannot be related without relating details of the other charge. * * *” 267 Or at 273.
With these definitions as guides, we conclude that the offenses here did not arise out of the "same criminal episode” under ORS 131.515(2). The circumstances of the two crimes are totally different. In one instance, defendant was charged with unlawfully entering his ex-wife’s residence with the intent to commit the crime of criminal
Defendant also argues that the prosecution for burglary violates Article I, § 12 of the Oregon Constitution.
"No person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same offence (sic), nor be compelled in any criminal prosecution to testify against himself.”
Clearly defendant was not prosecuted twice for a single offense. The issue then is whether multiple prosecutions for separate offenses offends Article I, § 12.
In State v. Brown, supra, the Supreme Court interpreted Article I, § 12 to mean:
"* * * a second prosecution is for the 'same offense’ and is prohibited if (1) the charges arise out of the same act or transaction, and (2) the charges could have been tried in the same court, and (3) the prosecutor knew or reasonably should have known of the facts relevant to the second charge at the time of the original prosecution.” 262 Or at 458.
If the constitutional principles of Brown have continuing validity in light of State v. Hammang, supra, what we have said in our discussion of ORS 131.515(2) applies equally to defeat defendant’s constitutional claim. The two offenses for which defendant was prosecuted did not arise out of the same criminal episode or the same transaction, as those terms are explained in State v. Fitzgerald, supra, and State v. Boyd, supra.
If, however, Brown is no longer the current explanation of Article I, § 12 in light of Hammang and ORS 131.515, we are left with the "same evidence” test articulated in State v. McDonald, 231 Or 48, 365 P2d 494
Defendant’s second claim is that the court erred in admitting testimony given by defendant at his DUII trial. Defendant contends the testimony was inadmissible under ORS 41.900(8)
ORS 41.900 provides:
“Evidence may be given of the following facts:
* * * *
“(2) The declaration, act or admission of a party as evidence against such party.
«H* sfc * * »
Evidentiary admissions made under oath are admissible against a criminal defendant at a subsequent trial. State v.
Finally, defendant contends the sentence imposed by the court was excessive
Affirmed.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 86 S Ct 1602, 16 L Ed 2d 694, 10 ALR3d 974 (1966).
ORS 131.515(3) deals with offenses of different degrees, lesser included offenses and attempts, none of which in involved in this case.
Defendant does not assert ORS 131.515(1) is other than a restatement of the state constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy. As noted by the Supreme Court in State v. Knowles, supra, the legislative commentary is clear in this respect. As in Knowles, we have no occasion to question the accuracy of the commentary in this case.
There is no issue here with regard to proper venue or prosecutorial knowledge, the other two essential elements of subsection (2).
ORS 41.900(8) provides:
"Evidence may be given of the following facts:
‡ ‡ ‡
"(8) The testimony of a witness, deceased, or out of the state, or unable to testify, given in a former action, suit, or proceeding, or trial thereof, between the same parties, relating to the same matter.”
Article I, § 12, provides:
"No person shall be * * * compelled in any criminal prosecution to be a witness against himself.”
Amendment V in pertinent part provides:
"No person * * * shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself * * *.”
Section I of Amendment XIV provides:
“All persons bom or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
ORS 138.040 provides the statutory scope of our review of sentences in criminal cases. Our only concern is whether the sentence appealed from is "cruel, unusual or excessive in light of the nature and background of the offender, or the facts and circumstances of the offense.”
Article I, § 15, provides:
"Laws for. the punishment crime shall be founded on the principles of reformation, and not vindictive justice.”
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
It is conceded, as the majority recognizes, that the prosecutor had knowledge of both charges and that they could have been joined in the same court. The only question, as I see it, is whether the two offenses are "based upon the same criminal episode” (ORS 131.515(2)) as defined in ORS 131.505(4).
Defendant and his wife were separated and in the process of dissolving their marriage; his wife had temporary custody of their children. On the night in question,
Defendant was charged both with burglary in the first degree and with DUII. The DUII charge came to trial first; defendant testified during trial and was acquitted.
Thereafter, defendant’s motion to dismiss the burglary charge was denied. At the trial on that offense, defendant’s testimony given during his defense of the DUH charge was admitted in evidence and he was convicted.
ORS 131.515(2) provides:
"No person shall be separately prosecuted for two or more offenses based upon the same criminal episode, if the several offenses are reasonably known to the appropriate prosecutor at the time of commencement of the first prosecution and establish proper venue in a single court.”
The phrase "criminal episode” is defined in ORS 131.505(4):
" 'Criminal episode’ means continuous and uninterrupted conduct that establishes at least one offense and is so joined in time, place and circumstances that such conduct is directed to the accomplishment of a single criminal objective.”
It seems to me that defendant’s getaway from the scene of the burglary comes squarely within the definition of "criminal episode,” and that it was incumbant upon the state to join the two charges for trial, in default of which the defendant was entitled to dismissal of the second charge. See State v. Knowles, 289 Or 803, 618 P2d 1245 (1980). It is not for us to judge the wisdom of the legislature’s requirement of joinder
"* * * We are aware that compulsory joinder of criminal charges raises many problems that would be better solved by the legislature than by the courts. We are concerned, however, with the minimum protection which our constitution requires, and we believe that the double jeopardy guarantee demands a realistic limitation on successive prosecutions by the state. A prosecutor who is or should be aware of the facts ought not to be able, in his sole discretion, to subject a defendant to a series of trials for violations which are part of the same course of conduct and which could be tried together.” 262 Or at 457.
There is no question here that the two offenses have different elements, require different proof and are directed to a different harm or evil. But that is not the question, even though we may think it ought to be. Perhaps the result which it seems to me the statute dictates does not make much sense. Perhaps the legislature did not intend such a result. On the other hand, the fact that defendant’s testimony in the DUII case was admitted in evidence in the burglary case (which would seem impermissible if the two offenses were not closely related) may be the kind of concern which persuaded the legislature to require joinder. Harassment, albeit ill defined, is one of the concerns.
I do not mean to suggest that the prosecutor intentionally brought to trial the DUII charge in the hopes that something might develop which would help the state in the prosecution of the burglary charge. Nonetheless, if the majority are correct, there is nothing to prevent that kind of manipulation of the process.
For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.
Because I conclude that the statutes control, there is no necessity to consider the constitutional aspects of former jeopardy, Article I, § 12, Oregon Constitution, as construed in State v. Brown, 262 Or 442, 497 P2d 1191 (1972).
I do not venture to distinguish permissive joinder of charges under ORS 132.560(2) from compulsory joinder under the statute here involved. However,
Reference
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- STATE OF OREGON, Respondent, v. JOHN CLYDE YOCK, Appellant
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