Big Day at Oregon Supreme Court Tomorrow
by: Ryan • June 28, 2011 • no comments
Tomorrow, the Oregon Supreme Court will issue opinons in State v. Speedis and State v. Davis. Both opinions should be quite significant. The Speedis opinion - discussed here - will involve the ability of the state to seek an upward departure based on enhancement criteria that have never been approved by the legislature. Known as non-enumerated factors, they include "on supervision at the time of the offense" or "on release," the former being one of the most commonly alleged upward departure factors. Speedis has been on the Oregon Library of Defense radar for some time.
Davis involves the assertion of the right to silence that was made prior to being in custody. Do the police have to respect the assertion of that right when the person isn't under arrest or in compelling circumstances? The Court of Appeals said yes, although the court would later say (in a different case, currently held in abeyance) that the police do not have to respect the request for an attorney if made pre-arrest. While a bad Speedis opinion can't make the status quo any worse, a bad Davis opinion could badly undermine the rights of individual to be free from government coercion.
