Oregon Appellate Ct - Aug 31, 2016

Revision as of 19:40, September 1, 2016

Restitution - Damages for Hit & Run Include Money Spent by Insurer for Purposes of Restitution

ORS 811.706 authorizes restitution awards to insurers. Defendant was convicted of failing to perform the duties of a driver after she left the scene of an accident where the victim's car sustained $5,307.52 in damages. The trial court ordered that defendant pay $500 for the deductible to the victim and the balance to the insurer. Defendant argued that under ORS 811.706 the trial court only could award restitution to the owner of property. The court concludes that the plain text of the statute contains no such limitation, and any suggestion in earlier case law was dicta. ORS 811.706 authorizes a restitution award of the amount of damages caused by the defendant in the accident underlying the hit & run, regardless of who has borne the financial burden.

State v. Anderson, 280 Or App 572 (2016) (Dehoog, J.)

Jury Instructions - Failure to Instruct on State's Burden to Disprove Defense is Plain Error

The trial court's failure to instruct the jury that the state was required to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt defendant's defense of property defense was plain error. The trial court's instruction, which omitted the burden of proof, did not inform the jury that the state was required to prove that the defense did not apply beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore the trial court's instruction created an erroneous impression of law that prejudiced defendant.

State v. Gore, 280 Or App 624 (2016) (De Muniz, S.J.)