State v. Dulfu
State v. Dulfu
Opinion of the Court
*642**649In this criminal case, defendant asserts that the trial court erred in calculating his criminal history score under the felony sentencing guidelines. Under the guidelines, prior convictions generally increase a defendant's criminal history score, unless they arose out of the same criminal episode as the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. In this case, defendant was convicted of multiple crimes based on child pornography on his computer. Over defendant's objection, the court increased defendant's criminal history score after it sentenced him for each of the crimes, until it reached the maximum criminal history score.
Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that his convictions were based on his possession of multiple images of child pornography at the same time and place and that possession of multiple items of contraband at the same time and place constitutes a single criminal episode. The Court of Appeals affirmed. State v. Dulfu ,
As explained below, the rule that governs the calculation of a defendant's criminal history score, OAR 213-004-0006, provides that a defendant's criminal history score is based on the defendant's criminal history at the time the defendant's "current crimes" are sentenced; therefore, a defendant's "current crimes" do not count toward the score. The legislative history of the rule shows that, by "current crimes," the drafters of the rule were referring to crimes arising from the same "criminal episode," which they understood to include crimes that, under the statutory and constitutional double jeopardy provisions, must be brought in a single criminal prosecution. Thus, a conviction does not count toward a defendant's criminal history score if, for double jeopardy purposes, it arose out of the same criminal episode as the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. In other words, if double jeopardy principles require crimes to be joined in a single criminal prosecution, then a conviction for one of the crimes cannot be used to increase the defendant's criminal history score for sentencing on any of the other crimes.
**650In this case, the state prosecuted defendant for multiple crimes based on the possession of multiple items of contraband at the same time and place, and, under double jeopardy rules, those crimes were part of a single criminal episode. Therefore, the trial court erred in using defendant's convictions for those crimes to increase his criminal history score as it did.
I. HISTORICAL AND PROCEDURAL FACTS
Law enforcement officers seized and searched defendant's computer and duplicated its hard drive. During a search of the duplicated hard drive, a forensic investigator discovered computer files containing visual recordings of sexually explicit conduct involving children. The state charged defendant with crimes based on 15 of the files. For each of the 15 files, the state charged defendant with one count of encouraging child sexual abuse in the first degree (ECSA I), ORS 163.684, and one count of encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree (ECSA II), ORS 163.686, for a total of 30 counts. (For example, Count 1, which charged defendant with ECSA I, and Count 16, which charged defendant with ECSA II, were based on the same file.) The indictment alleged that the crimes occurred on eight different dates.
*643As relevant here, a person commits ECSA I if the person either knowingly "duplicates * * * a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child" or knowingly "possesses * * * such a visual recording with the intent to * * * duplicate" it. ORS 163.684(1)(a)(A).
The case was tried to a jury. The state presented evidence that the 15 files were on defendant's computer when it was seized from his house and that defendant downloaded the 15 files on eight different dates. The state argued that defendant was guilty of the ECSA I counts because he had possessed the files with the intent to duplicate them; it also argued, in the alternative, that defendant was guilty of those counts because he had duplicated the files by downloading them. The state did not elect a theory of ECSA I, and the jury verdict form did not identify a theory. The jury convicted defendant on all 30 counts (one ECSA I count and one ECSA II count for each file).
The trial court sentenced defendant on the ECSA I counts first. Under the sentencing guidelines, a defendant's presumptive sentence for a crime is based on the crime seriousness ranking of the crime and the defendant's criminal history score. OAR 213-004-0001. The guidelines include a 99-block grid, with eleven crime serious categories on the vertical axis, ranging from "1" to "11," and nine criminal history categories on the horizontal axis, ranging from "A" to "I."
ECSA I has a crime seriousness ranking of "8." OAR 213-017-0004(14). Defendant's criminal history score for Count 1 was "I." Therefore, defendant's gridblock for Count 1 was "8-I," for which the presumptive prison term is 16-18 months. See OAR ch. 213, App 1 (showing presumptive sentences for gridblock). The trial court imposed an 18-month prison term on Count 1.
The trial court then had to determine whether to include defendant's conviction on Count 1 when calculating his criminal history score for Count 2. The calculation of a defendant's criminal history is governed by *644OAR 213-004-0006, which provides, in part, that a defendant's criminal history is based on the number of convictions "in the offender's criminal history at the time the current crime or crimes of conviction are sentenced."
Defendant argued that, under this court's case law, a conviction cannot be included in a defendant's criminal history if it arose out of the same "criminal episode" as the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. See State v. Cuevas ,
In Boyd , a double jeopardy case, this court held that two charges based on the defendant's possession of two different items of contraband at the same time and location arose out of a single criminal episode.
The state agreed that, if multiple convictions arise out of a single criminal episode, none of the convictions can be used to increase a defendant's criminal history score for any of the others; but the state did not agree that defendant's convictions arose out of a single criminal episode. The state contended that defendant's criminal history score could be increased for each crime committed on a different date.
The trial court rejected defendant's argument that, because the state had prosecuted him for possession of the computer files at the same time and place, his convictions arose out of a single criminal episode. The trial court did so by making its own finding regarding the basis for defendant's guilt on the ECSA I counts. Specifically, the trial court found that defendant was guilty of the ECSA I counts because he duplicated the images by downloading them:
"[Defendant's] conduct was not one criminal episode, but rather multiple criminal offenses. I find that he was convicted of downloading and duplicating these videos on eight separate dates."
Accordingly, the trial court increased defendant's criminal history score for sentencing on Count 2 and each of the remaining counts until it reached the maximum criminal history score of "A."
Increasing defendant's criminal history score increased defendant's presumptive sentences. As mentioned, **654on Count 1 defendant's gridblock was 8-I, for which the presumptive prison term is 16-18 months. Because the court included defendant's conviction on Count 1 in its calculation of his criminal history score on Count 2, defendant's gridblock on Count 2 was 8-D, which carries a presumptive prison term of 27-28 months. Then, because the court continued to increase defendant's criminal history score after sentencing defendant for each conviction, defendant's gridblock on Count 3 was 8-B, which carries a presumptive prison term of 35-40 months, and his gridblock on Count 4 was 8-A, which carries a presumptive prison term of 41-45 months. Because "A" is the highest criminal history score, defendant's gridblock on the remaining ECSA I counts was 8-A, and his gridblock on all the ECSA II counts was 5-A. See OAR 213-017-0007(9) (providing that ECSA II has a crime seriousness ranking of 5).
On each count, the trial court imposed the *645maximum presumptive prison term.
Defendant appealed, renewing his argument that all his convictions arose from a single criminal episode and, therefore, none of his convictions could be used to increase his criminal history score for sentencing him on any of the others. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
II. PARTIES' ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW
On review, the parties agree that the issue in this case is whether defendant's convictions arose out of a single criminal episode for the purposes of the criminal history rule, OAR 213-004-0006. But, they do not agree on what constitutes a criminal episode or whether defendant's crimes were part of a single criminal episode.
Defendant argues that the term "criminal episode" has the same meaning in the criminal history context as it does in the double jeopardy context and, therefore, if crimes must be joined in a single criminal prosecution for double **655jeopardy purposes, a conviction for one cannot be used to increase the defendant's criminal history score for any of the others. Defendant further argues that there are multiple tests for determining whether crimes are part of the same criminal episode, and that this court identified three of them in Boyd . As discussed below, one is the "same act or transaction" or "cross-related" test, which is whether the charges are for crimes that " '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.' " Boyd ,
In response, the state argues that the only test for whether crimes are part of a single criminal episode for the purposes of the criminal history rule is the "same criminal objective" test. Under that test, the state contends that defendant's crimes were not part of a single criminal episode because, even though the jury did not make an express finding regarding the bases for its verdicts on the ECSA I counts-that is, even though the jury did not expressly find whether defendant duplicated the files or possessed them with the intent to duplicate them-the trial court itself could find that defendant was guilty of the ECSA I counts for duplicating the files by downloading them, and the trial court could further find that defendant downloaded the files on eight separate dates, during eight separate criminal episodes. Alternatively, the state argues that, even if the trial court itself could not make a finding that defendant duplicated the images and even if the other two tests apply, defendant's crimes were not part of a single criminal episode under any of the tests because defendant came into possession of the images at eight different times. Finally, the state **656argues that, even if defendant's crimes were part of a single criminal episode and the trial court erred in calculating his criminal history scores as it did, the error was harmless because the trial court "could and would impose the same total sentence on remand."
Thus, although the parties agree that a conviction cannot be used to increase a defendant's criminal history score if it arose out of the same criminal episode as the conviction for which the defendant is being sentenced, they disagree about what constitutes a criminal episode for the purposes of the criminal history rule. To resolve that disagreement, we must interpret that rule.
*646III. ANALYSIS
The Oregon Felony Sentencing Guidelines were developed by the Oregon Criminal Justice Council, adopted as administrative rules by the Sentencing Guidelines Board, and expressly approved by the legislature. Oregon Sentencing Guidelines Implementation Manual 3 (1989) (hereafter Guidelines Implementation Manual ); Laird C. Kirkpatrick, Mandatory Felony Sentencing Guidelines: The Oregon Model,
When interpreting a sentencing guidelines rule, this court applies the methodology for interpreting statutes outlined in PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries ,
A. Text of the Criminal History Rule
We begin with the text of the criminal history rule. OAR 213-004-0006 provides, in part:
"(2) An offender's criminal history is based upon the number of adult felony and Class A misdemeanor convictions and juvenile adjudications in the offender's criminal history at the time the current crime or crimes of conviction are sentenced ."4
(Emphasis added.)
OAR 213-004-0006(2) establishes the point in time at which a defendant's criminal history score is to be calculated for sentencing purposes: "the time the current crime or crimes of conviction are sentenced." The drafters' use of the plural term "crimes" reflects their recognition that a defendant may have multiple current crimes of conviction. Under **658the rule, if a defendant has multiple current crimes of conviction, the defendant's criminal history score is calculated at "the time" those "crimes" are sentenced. The drafters' use of the singular "time" and the plural "crimes" indicates that they intended that, when a defendant has multiple current crimes of conviction, the defendant's criminal history score is calculated *647at one time-specifically, at the outset of the sentencing of the group of crimes. That is, the defendant's criminal history score is calculated before the sentencing on the first crime and remains the same for sentencing on the remainder of the group of crimes.
If the drafters of the criminal history rule had intended that, when a defendant has multiple current crimes of conviction, each conviction could be used to increase the defendant's criminal history on the subsequent convictions, the drafters would have simply stated that a defendant's criminal history score is based on the defendant's criminal history at the time the current "crime" is sentenced. As the Court of Appeals has observed, "If, upon sentencing, each crime becomes part of the criminal history, * * * then the reference in the rule to prior convictions at the time of the crimes of conviction becomes mere surplusage." State v. Allen ,
Thus, the plain text of OAR 213-004-0006 shows that, when a defendant is sentenced for multiple current crimes, none of the current crimes are to be used in the calculation of the defendant's criminal history. The question then becomes: what are a defendant's "current crimes"? For the answer to that question, we look to this court's decisions in Bucholz , State v. Miller ,
**659B. Cases Construing the Criminal History Rule
As discussed below, in Bucholz and Miller , this court construed the criminal history rule as originally adopted, former OAR 253-04-006 (Nov. 1, 1989). In Bucholz , this court stated that the legislative history of the rule indicated that the drafters of the rule did not intend a conviction to be used to increase a defendant's criminal history score if the conviction arose out of the same "criminal episode" as the conviction for which the defendant was being sentenced. Bucholz , 317 Or. at 317,
1. State v. Bucholz
In Bucholz , the issue was whether a defendant's current crimes include all the crimes for which the defendant is sentenced in a single day, regardless of whether the crimes were committed, charged, or tried together. The defendant in Bucholz was charged, in separate indictments, with one count of theft and one count of delivery of methamphetamine. The crimes were committed more than a month apart. The defendant pleaded guilty to both crimes and both cases were set for sentencing on the same day. After sentencing the defendant in the theft case, the trial court used **660the theft conviction to increase the defendant's criminal history score for sentencing in the drug case.
The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court had erred in calculating his criminal history score. Specifically, he argued that "the theft conviction, having been sentenced on the same day as the drug conviction, could *648not be counted in [his] criminal history as a prior conviction." Bucholz , 317 Or. at 311,
"The defendant who's before you for sentencing on four different felonies at the same time-three of those are not to me prior convictions. They're present convictions . * * * So you wouldn't count them as part of prior criminal history, no matter what rule you use for figuring prior criminal history."
In keeping with the drafters' expressed understanding of the rule, the official commentary to the rule explains the drafters' intention regarding the calculation of a defendant's criminal history score when the defendant has multiple current offenses. Guidelines Implementation Manual 50-51 (1989). It states:
"[T]he offender's criminal history is to include all prior convictions * * * entered against the offender 'at the time the current crime or crimes of conviction [are] sentenced.'
"This reference to 'current crime or crimes of conviction' was intended to prohibit the consideration of convictions arising from the current proceeding in classification of the offender's criminal history."
Based on the legislative history of the criminal history rule, the Court of Appeals held that, because the **663defendant's theft conviction and drug conviction were sentenced at the same time, the trial court had erred in using the theft conviction to increase the defendant's criminal history score on the drug conviction. Bucholz ,
On review, this court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. Bucholz , 317 Or. at 312,
To summarize, the legislative history discussed in Bucholz shows that the drafters of the criminal history rule recognized that a defendant could appear before a trial court for sentencing on multiple crimes, which the drafters described as "current" crimes. The legislative history also shows that the drafters did not intend the trial court's pronouncement of sentence on each current crime to result in an increase in the defendant's criminal history score on the remaining crimes. In addition, the history shows that the drafters equated the defendant's "current" crimes with all the defendant's crimes that arose out of the same "criminal episode." That equation made sense, given that-as this court held in Miller , which was decided the same day as Bucholz and is discussed below-the drafters presumed that the only charges that would be before a trial court as part of the same criminal proceeding or case were those for crimes committed as part of a single criminal episode, because those were the only charges that could be joined at the time.
2. State v. Miller
In Miller , the defendant was charged with committing multiple crimes against each of three different victims on three different dates. The charges were joined in a single indictment, but there was no dispute that they arose out of three separate criminal episodes. Therefore, following Bucholz , this court held that the defendant's convictions for each criminal episode could be used to increase his criminal history score for sentencing the convictions in each of the subsequent criminal episodes. Miller , 317 Or. at 302,
**665In Miller , this court also considered whether the sentencing guidelines rule that limits the total amount of prison time that can be imposed through consecutive sentences applied to the defendant's convictions. The rule, which was previously numbered former OAR 253-12-020 (Mar. 8, 1996), and is now numbered OAR 213-012-0200, limits the total amount of prison time for consecutive sentences to 200 percent of the prison term for the defendant's primary offense. The defendant in Miller argued that the limit applied to all his convictions, even though they arose from three separate criminal episodes. This court disagreed, accepting the state's argument that the 200 percent rule applies only to consecutive sentences for convictions arising from a single episode. Miller , 317 Or. at 306,
"the legislature, in approving the 200 percent rule, must have had in mind that the rule would apply only to offenses arising from criminal charges from a single criminal episode because, at the time that the 200 percent rule was proposed by the council, promulgated by the board and in the process of being adopted by the legislature, only single-episode criminal acts could have been joined in one indictment or criminal case. ORS 132.560(1) (1987)."8
Miller , 317 Or. at 303,
Since Bucholz and Miller , both this court and the Court of Appeals have held that the sentencing guidelines limits on increasing a defendant's criminal history score and imposing consecutive sentences apply only to convictions arising out of the same criminal episode. See, e.g. , State v. Martin ,
3. State v. Cuevas
In Cuevas , the defendant asked this court to overrule its decisions in Bucholz and Miller , asserting that it had erred in holding that the criminal history rule and the 200-percent rule apply only to sentences for convictions arising out of a single criminal episode. This court reviewed the decisions and explained that they both
**667"start from a proposition that the court identified in Miller . The court explained that, when the Criminal Justice Sentencing Commission drafted the sentencing guidelines rules, 'only single-episode criminal acts could have been joined in one indictment or criminal case' and sentenced in a single judicial proceeding. The court noted that the sentencing guidelines rules were consistent with that assumption. That is, they limited the length of consecutive sentences imposed in a single judicial proceeding on the assumption that the offenses being sentenced in that proceeding arose out of a single criminal episode.
*652However, the sentencing guidelines did not place that limit on sentences imposed in separate proceedings, which would have arisen out of separate criminal episodes.
"* * * * *
"That same context informed the court's decision in Bucholz ."
Cuevas ,
This court adhered to that view in Cuevas , noting that, in the 20 years since they had been decided, Bucholz and Miller had become "an integral part of the fabric of Oregon sentencing laws," and "[d]uring that time, neither the legislature nor the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission [had] amended the sentencing guideline rules to restore what [the] defendant contend[ed] was the true meaning of those rules." Cuevas ,
Thus, the question in this case becomes what the drafters of the criminal history rule understood a "criminal episode" to be. As noted, the parties dispute the meaning of that term in the criminal history context.
C. The Meaning of "Criminal Episode" in the Criminal History Context
The legislative history of the criminal history rule discussed above provides clues about what the drafters of the rule understood the term "criminal episode" to mean. First, at the time the drafters used the term, it had an established meaning in the double jeopardy or former jeopardy context. See, e.g. , Boyd ,
That conclusion leads to the question whether defendant's crimes were part of the same criminal episode, as that term is used in the double jeopardy context; that is, whether defendant's crimes had to be joined in a single criminal case. On that issue, this court's decision in Boyd is dispositive.
*653D. The Meaning of "Criminal Episode" in the Double Jeopardy Context
In Boyd , police officers searched the defendant's house and discovered a stolen television and amphetamines. In separate indictments, the state charged the defendant with theft, based on her possession of the television, and criminal activity in drugs, based on her possession of the amphetamines. Boyd ,
"[U]nder Article I, section 12, of our constitution, 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."
On review, this court endeavored to clarify when charges must be brought in a single prosecution to avoid violating Article I, section 12, which protects defendants against "undue harassment." Boyd ,
The first test is whether the charges arose out of the same "act or transaction," as that term was defined in Fitzgerald , for the purposes of permissive joinder under ORS 132.560. In Fitzgerald , this court held that "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." Fitzgerald ,
The second test is whether the charges arose out of a "single criminal episode," as that term is defined for the purposes of the double jeopardy statute, ORS 131.515, which provides, in part, "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." For the purposes of the double jeopardy statute, "criminal episode" is defined by ORS 131.505(4), which provides, " '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."
The third test is for charges based on the possession of contraband. In Boyd , this court ruled that possession of multiple items of contraband at the same time and place constitutes a "single episode." Boyd ,
"The nature of the circumstances upon which criminal culpability rests in this situation-the *654act or circumstances of possession-make it impossible to resolve the question by reference to the Fitzgerald test based upon the factual interrelation of the charges. The interrelationship deemed essential in Fitzgerald is lacking in the present case because the possession of the separate items of property do not constitute relatable events but rather a single condition characterized by the manner in which the items are held by the accused."
"If a defendant is charged with the possession of drugs, some of which had been acquired at one time and the rest at another time, it would seem clear that he would be entitled to object to multiple prosecutions. There would be no reason other than harassment of the defendant for the state to divide the condition of possession into parts and prosecute separately on each . The case should not be treated any differently simply because the items of contraband happen to be different types. We hold, therefore, that the Court of Appeals properly treated this as a single episode."
E. Defendant's Convictions
Defendant argues that, under each of the three tests identified in Boyd , his conviction arose from a single criminal episode. His primary argument is that all his convictions were based on his possession of the computer files and, because he possessed the files at the same time and place, his possession constitutes a single criminal episode under Boyd .
Before addressing the merits of that argument, it is necessary to address the state's argument that it does not matter whether defendant possessed the files at the same time and place because the trial court could and did find that defendant was guilty of the ECSA I counts for duplicating the files by downloading them and that he had downloaded them during eight separate criminal episodes. The state acknowledges that it presented alternative theories regarding the actus reus of the ECSA I counts; it argued that the jury could convict defendant of those counts either on a theory that defendant duplicated the files by downloading them or on a theory that defendant possessed the files with the intent to duplicate them. The state also acknowledges that the jury's verdict does not reflect the theory on which the jury based its verdicts. Nevertheless, the state contends that the trial court could make its own finding at sentencing regarding the factual basis for defendant's guilt on the ECSA I counts.
That is incorrect. In a jury trial, it is the jury's role to determine what criminal conduct, if any, the defendant engaged in. See, e.g. , Or. Const., Art. I, § 11 ("In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to public trial by an impartial jury * * *."); State v. Hoffman ,
In this case, as in any criminal case tried to a jury, it was the jury's role to determine whether the state carried its burden of proving the actus reus and mens rea of each charged crime. Thus, for each ECSA I count, it was the jury's role to determine whether the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant had duplicated the files, that defendant had possessed the files with the intent to duplicate them, or both. That was not the trial court's role. Once the jury issued its verdict, the trial court could determine whether defendant's criminal conduct-as found by the jury-constituted one or more criminal episodes. See Cuevas ,
**674Therefore, we return to the merits of defendant's argument that, under Boyd , his convictions arose out of a single criminal episode because the state prosecuted him for his possession of the files at the same time and place. Because, as we have explained above, the term "criminal episode" has the same meaning in the criminal history context as in the double jeopardy context, we agree with that argument. It is clear that, under Boyd , the state could not have brought serial prosecutions against defendant in this case, each based on possession of a different computer file. For example, the state could not have brought a case against defendant for possession of one file, and then, after that case was resolved, have brought a second case based on possession of a second file at the same time and location, even if the second file was obtained at a different time. As in Boyd , "[t]here would be no reason other than harassment of the defendant for the state to divide the condition of possession into parts and prosecute separately on each."
The state argues that holding that defendant's possession of the computer files at the same time and location **675constitutes a single criminal episode will result in unreasonable sentences. Specifically, the state argues,
"The necessary result of defendant's proffered rule is that a person who separately acquires unlawfully multiple items of contraband but then destroys or otherwise disposes of them is treated more harshly than a similar person who separately and unlawfully acquires the same multiple items of contraband and then chooses instead to continue to retain it all."
The result to which the state objects is the result of the drafters' importation of double jeopardy principles into the criminal history context. Application of those principles can result in defendants being treated differently. For example, a defendant who possesses multiple items of contraband at separate times and locations can be serially prosecuted, but a defendant who possesses multiple items of contraband at the same time and location cannot. Arguably, the first defendant is treated more harshly than the second. But the different treatment is not unreasonable; as this court explained in Boyd , joinder of the second defendant's crimes is necessary to protect against undue harassment. And, it was not unreasonable for the drafters of the criminal history score rule to conclude that, if crimes had to be joined in a single criminal proceeding, they would count as present crimes, not prior crimes, when calculating the defendant's criminal history score.
Certainly, the legislature could have used one test for determining whether crimes had to be joined for double jeopardy purposes and a different test for determining whether crimes could be used to increase a defendant's criminal history score, but it did not. As this court held in Bucholz , and affirmed in Cuevas , the drafters of the criminal history rule "distinguished between a single criminal episode , which they thought was not prior criminal history for use in sentencing on some other conviction from the same episode, and crimes from more than one episode ." Bucholz , 317 Or. at 317,
F. Harmlessness
Having concluded that the defendant's simultaneous possession of the computer files constitutes a single criminal episode, we turn to the state's final argument, which is that, even if the trial court erred in calculating defendant's criminal history, the error was harmless because the trial court "could and would impose the same total sentence on remand." See Or. Const., Art. VII (Amended), § 3 (stating that this court shall affirm a judgment, notwithstanding any error in the trial, if the court is of the opinion that the judgment "was such as should have been rendered in the case"); ORS 131.035 (providing that no error in a criminal proceeding "renders it invalid, unless it has prejudiced the defendant in respect to a substantial right"). Even assuming that the trial court could impose the same total prison term, we cannot conclude that the trial court's sentencing error was harmless. As described above, the trial court's error in calculating defendant's criminal history had a significant effect on defendant's presumptive sentences. It increased defendant's presumptive sentences rapidly and significantly; his presumptive sentence on Count 1 was 16-18 months, but by the time he was sentenced on Counts 4-15, it was 41-45 months. Given the effect the error would have had on the trial court's understanding of the maximum total sentence it could impose on defendant, it is far from certain that the error had no bearing on the trial court's determination of what sentence to impose. Thus, the record does not establish that, had the trial court properly calculated defendant's criminal history, it would have imposed the same total prison sentence.
*657The decisions of the Court of Appeals and circuit court are reversed, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for resentencing.
Specifically, the indictment alleged that the crimes occurred on November 26, 2011 (Counts 1 and 16); January 1, 2012 (Counts 2 and 17); January 6, 2012 (Counts 3 and 18); January 20, 2012 (Counts 4 and 19); January 24, 2012 (Counts 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, and 22); January 30, 2012 (Counts 8, 9, 10, 23, 24, and 25); January 31, 2012 (Counts 11, 12, 13, 26, 27, and 28); and February 2, 2012 (Counts 14, 15, 29, and 30).
ORS 163.684 defines ECSA I, a Class B felony, as follows:
"(1) A person commits the crime of encouraging child sexual abuse in the first degree if the person:
"(a)(A) Knowingly develops, duplicates, publishes, prints, disseminates, exchanges, displays, finances, attempts to finance or sells a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child or knowingly possesses, accesses or views such a visual recording with the intent to develop, duplicate, publish, print, disseminate, exchange, display or sell it; or
"(B) Knowingly brings into this state, or causes to be brought or sent into this state, for sale or distribution, a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child; and
"(b) Knows or is aware of and consciously disregards the fact that creation of the visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involved child abuse."
Thus, defendant's prison terms were as follows: 18 months (Count 1); 28 months (Count 2); 40 months (Count 3); 45 months (Counts 4-15); and 16 months (Counts 16-30).
In full, OAR 213-004-0006(2) provides:
"An offender's criminal history is based upon the number of adult felony and Class A misdemeanor convictions and juvenile adjudications in the offender's criminal history at the time the current crime or crimes of conviction are sentenced. For crimes committed on or after November 1, 1989 a conviction is considered to have occurred upon the pronouncement of sentence in open court. For crimes committed prior to November 1, 1989 a conviction is considered to have occurred upon pronouncement in open court of a sentence, or upon the pronouncement in open court of the suspended imposition of a sentence. Prior adult convictions or juvenile adjudications which have been expunged shall not be considered when classifying an offender's criminal history. Prior findings of 'guilty except for insanity' shall not be considered when classifying an offender's criminal history."
Thus, not all a defendant's convictions or adjudications are included in the calculation of a defendant's criminal history score. Only convictions and adjudications for felony and Class A misdemeanor are included; convictions for Class B misdemeanors and Class C misdemeanors are not included.
The criminal history rule was originally adopted as former OAR 253-04-006 (Nov. 1, 1989). It was renumbered to OAR 213-004-0006 in 1996.
To provide background for the discussion of the legislative history of the criminal history rule, we note that, as originally proposed by the Oregon Criminal Justice Council and approved by the Sentencing Guidelines Board, the rule provided, in pertinent part, that a defendant's criminal history was based on "the number of adult felony and Class A misdemeanor convictions and juvenile adjudications in the offender's criminal history at the time the current crime was committed ." See Or. Laws 1989, ch. 790, § 98 (setting out the legislative amendments to the text of the original rule) (emphasis added); see also Guidelines Implementation Manual 50 (describing original rule). When the legislature reviewed the sentencing guidelines in connection with the bill intended to implement them, Senate Bill (S.B.) 1073 (1989), Representative Kelly Clark proposed that the criminal history rule be amended so that a defendant's criminal history would be based on the defendant's criminal history at the time the current crime or crimes were sentenced . Tape Recording, House Committee on Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Corrections, S.B. 1073, June 20, 1989, Tape 103, Side A (statement of Rep. Kelly Clark). The amendment was approved by the House. Senate and House Journal, Regular Session, S.B. 1073, S-216 (1989).
In addition to the amendment of the criminal history rule, the House subcommittee made other amendments to S.B. 1073-which was one of the last bills of the legislative session-before passing it, including the insertion of the substance of ten other bills that had not been heard by the House Judiciary Committee yet. Minutes, House Committee on Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Corrections, S.B. 1073, June 20, 1989, 12. The House approved S.B. 1073 as amended, but the Senate did not concur in all of the House's amendments. Senate and House Journal, Regular Session, S.B. 1073, S-216 (1989). As a result, the Senate inserted the guidelines provisions of S.B. 1073, including the provisions relating to the criminal history rule, as amended by the House, into a different bill, House Bill (H.B.) 2250 (1989), which had already been approved by the House. Minutes, Senate Committee on Judiciary, H.B. 2250, June 29, 1989, 3-5. H.B. 2250 proceeded to a conference committee, in which it was repeatedly explained that the provisions relating to the criminal history rule were the product of the House's amendments and were identical to the provisions that the House approved in S.B. 1073. Tape Recording, Joint Conference Committee, H.B. 2250, July 1, 1989, Tape 1, Side A (statement of Sen. Joyce Cohen that the Senate did not change the House language for the criminal history score amendments);
The drafters' agreement with Ellis's statement was consistent with their desire to ensure that sentences imposed under the guidelines did not exceed the state's correctional resources. When the drafters were discussing the rule, a staff member of the Criminal Justice Council informed them that, if a defendant had "multiple current offenses" and each offense increased the defendant's criminal history score for the remaining offenses, that would increase the correctional resources required to implement the guidelines. Tape Recording, House Committee on Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Corrections, June 20, 1989, Tape 103, Side A (statement of Kathryn Ashford). One of the drafters characterized the projected increase as "substantial," id . (statement of Rep. Tom Mason), and all the drafters, in agreeing with Ellis, appear to have intended to avoid such an increase.
The commentary further explains, "[A] 'conviction' or 'juvenile adjudication' should be considered to have occurred upon the pronouncement of sentence in open court. This is a convention established only to provide continuity in the application of these rules with respect to convictions from other proceedings against the offender." Guidelines Implementation Manual 51 (emphasis added). Thus, although the commentary states that a conviction is considered to have occurred upon the pronouncement of sentence in open court, the purpose of that statement-which was later inserted into the criminal history rule itself, former OAR 253-04-006 (Nov. 1, 1993)-is to establish the criteria for using a conviction from another proceeding in the calculation of a defendant's criminal history score. It was necessary because, as the Council members discussed, under Oregon law, there were many definitions of "conviction." Minutes, Oregon Criminal Justice Council, Sept. 18, 1989, 9-10. For example, a conviction could be deemed to have occurred upon pronouncement of sentence or upon entry of a sentencing order.
ORS 132.560 (1987), which governed permissive joinder, provided:
"The indictment must charge but one crime, and in one form only, except that:
"(1) Where the crime may be committed by the use of different means, the indictment may allege the means in the alternative.
"(2) When there are several charges against any person or persons for the same act or transaction, instead of having several indictments, the whole may be joined in one indictment in several counts; and if two or more indictments are found in such cases, the court may order them to be consolidated."
Prior to the session, the only charges that could be joined under ORS 132.560 were those that were "for the same act or transaction." ORS 132.560 (1987), amended by Or. Laws 1989, ch. 842, § 1. During the session, the legislature amended that statute to also allow for joinder of charges "of the same or similar character" and charges "connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan." Or. Laws 1989, ch. 842, § 1.
In most cases, the jury's finding regarding the actus reus of each crime will be apparent from the charging instrument, jury instructions, and jury verdict form. In cases like this one, where the state proceeds on alternative theories regarding an element of the crime, a special verdict form can be submitted to the jury to obtain findings regarding each of the theories.
Boyd 's holding was dependent on the fact that the state prosecuted the defendant for possession of the stolen television and drugs. As this court observed,
"Had defendant been charged with the actual theft of the television set on one occasion and the illegal purchase of drugs at another time, it would be clear enough that the events would be unrelated and therefore obviously not unitary. But the state did not charge defendant with the acts which eventually culminated in defendant's possession of the television set and the drugs. The charge is a single charge of illegal possession of goods at one time and place."
Boyd ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Oregon, on Review v. Catalin Voda DULFU, on Review.
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published