Oregon Appellate Ct - Dec. 30, 2015

by: Abassos and Erin Roycroft • December 30, 2015 • no comments

Setover - Restraining Order Hearing - Abuse of Discretion to Deny both the Petitioner's Witness and a Setover on the Grounds of Judicial Economy

It was an abuse of discretion for the judge in a restraining order hearing to refuse to hear the petitioner's witness solely because the judge decided the hearing shouldn't go beyond 30 minutes. The judge needed either to let the witness testify on the day of the hearing or continue the hearing to allow the witness to testify.

Although we appreciate the demands of the trial court’s docket, there is no expla- nation in the record as to why, if other cases prevented the court from hearing petitioner’s sole witness that day, the case could not have been continued. At least on the record before us, a continuance for the purpose of hearing peti- tioner’s witness would have imposed a minimal burden on the court system while also ensuring that petitioner had a fundamentally fair opportunity to present his case. JD v Klapatch, 275 Or App 992 (2015).