Oregon Supreme Court 11-10-11

by: Abassos • November 9, 2011 • no comments

Read the full article for details about the following new cases:

• Lesser Included Instructions - Crimes vs. Violations
• Speedy Trial - Consent - Reasonable Delay

Lesser Included Instruction- Violations vs. Crimes

A defendant is not entitled to a lesser-included instruction when the lesser included is a violation. In a misdemeanor reckless driving case, the defendant was not entitled to a jury instruction on the elements of careless driving, a traffic violation, as a lesser included offense. ORS 136.465 allows for an instruction on lesser included "crimes." "Crimes" include offenses which may be punished by imprisonment i.e. misdemeanors and felonies, not violations. Since careless driving is not a crime, the defendant was not entitled to an instruction. Affirmed. State v. Swanson

Speedy Trial-Consent-Reasonable Delay

The defendants did not consent to a delay by failing to appear. Consent requires that a person "expressly agrees to a postponement requested by the state or the court." However, dismissal was not required because the defendants were entirely in control of the amount of the delay that resulted. They voluntarily failed to appear, knew that an arrest warrant would be issued if they didn't, and declined to turn themselves in until being discovered by the police. The state is under no obligation to take additional steps to track down the defendants when the delay was caused entirely by the defendants themselves. Affirmed. State v. Glushko