2012 Oregon Criminal Law Quiz
by: Ryan • December 18, 2011 • no comments
As mentioned in the 2011 Oregon Criminal Law Quiz, the inspiration for this post is the annual quiz that the late William Safire composed for his newspaper column at the end of each year.
(1) The Oregon Supreme Court has under advisement State v. Lawson, potentially the most significant Eyewitness ID case in Oregon since State v. Classen. The court will:
- (A) Make mild improvements to the Classen analysis to reflect our greater understanding of eyewitness ID reliability.
- (B) Undermine Classen.
- (C) Doesn't matter. SCOTUS will eliminate any due process protections from unreliable eyewitness IDs.
(2) Under both statute and case law (St v. Wedge), the "gun minimum", aka the firearm enhancement, is an element of the crime it's attached to. This arguably means that, if the gun minimum is attached to a Felon in Possession, then the crime of Unlawful Use of a Weapon is a lesser-included offense. Consequently, the Court of Appeals will conclude that in such a situation, the two crimes of UUW and Felon in Possession (gun minimum) will merge into just a conviction for Felon in Possession.
- (A) True
- (B) False
(3) The Court of Appeals will also find that the following pair of crimes merge. Pick all that apply.
- (A) MCS and PCS (relying on State v. Blake)
- (B) MCS and PCS, but only when MCS also has the enhancement fact of "possession of substantial quantities."
- (C) MCS and DCS, since both address "one unified legislative objective ."
- (D) ECSA and ECSA , even if different children are depicted.
(4) The Oregon Supreme Court will grant review in order to address the following issues.
- (A) Whether multiple counts of hit and run merge.
- (B) When multiple counts of ID Theft merge.
- (C) When multiple counts of Felon in Possession merge.
(5) State v. Mallory seemed to hold that a finding of separate criminal episodes was, sometimes, a Blakely fact, but it has never been reaffirmed. In 2012, the COA will finally reaffirm it.
- (A) True
- (B) False
(6) Which of the following dramatic developments will occur in 2012? Pick all that apply.
- (A) The COA will apply the Moreno defense to ID Thefts.
- (B) The OSC will finally address whether offense-specific enhancement facts are elements under the Oregon Constitution.
- (C) Trial courts will start accepting special jury instructions that limit the application of felony murder to co-defendants in certain situations, in light of the discussion in Lopez-Minjarez.
Okay, that's it for now. I'm reserving the right to add additional questions once the website is at its new home. If you're feeling brave, put your answers in the comments below. Not just defense attorneys, but the prosecutors who lurk are also welcome to answer.
