Oregon Supreme Ct. - Mar. 12, 2015

by: Frangieringer and Abassos • March 12, 2015 • no comments

Criminal Mischief – Wild Deer Are the Property of Another

Under the Criminal Mischief statutes, wild deer are "the property of another" because the state has a legal interest in wildlife. Here, the Defendant was convicted of Criminal Mischief II for shooting state-owned deer decoys. Defendant and his son intended to shoot deer but actually damaged the decoys. Because 1) “wildlife is the property of the state,” 2) “the state can obtain compensation for damage done to wildlife,” and 3) “Oregon courts have long used the metaphor of a trust to describe the state’s sovereign interest in wildlife,” the state has a legal interest in wildlife as used in ORS 164.305. This legal interest is sufficient to show that wild deer are “the property of another,” even if the state does not have a possessory interest in each Oregon deer. State v. Dickerson, 356 Or 822 (2015).