Ryan Scott

Ryan Scott is a partner in Scott & Huggins. He frequently speaks and writes about cutting edge legal arguments and complex but essential defense topics like those below. Ryan is a 2011 and 2012 super lawyer and the winner of the 2009 and 2012 OCDLA Presidents Awards.

Sex Crimes

• 07/12/13 | Sex Abuse II: We've Won One Proportionality Argument, Could We Win Another
• 07/03/13 | ECSA: Why The State's Best Argument In Favor of Constitutionality Is Actually An Argument Against
• 05/10/13 | Sex Offender Registry: Youthful Offenders
• 05/08/13 | Arguments No One Would Be Stupid Enough to Make, Except in a Courtroom (part 1)
• 02/18/13 | Advice From The Oregon Legislature: If You Absolutely Have to Have Sex With a Minor, Then...
• 12/04/12 | Blog:Main/Forgotten_Favorites:_So,_What_is_the_New_Gridblock_for_Sex_Abuse_II?
• 12/03/12 | Third-Party Standing and the Right of 17 Year Olds to Have Intercourse
• 12/02/12 | Blog:Main/Forgotten_Favorites:_Is_it_Possible_to_Be_Convicted_of_a_Sex_Offense_But_Not_Have_to_Register_as_a_Sex_Offender?
• 10/26/12 | Forgotten Favorites: Sex Crimes and Grand Jury Notes
• 08/08/12 | Is Third-Party Standing Necessary for a Defendant to Assert a 17 Year Old's Right to Intercourse?
• 07/15/12 | Merger of Multiple Counts of Sexual Abuse: Same Theory
• 06/06/12 | Have the Appellate Court and Prosecutor Ordered Jurors to Re-Victimize Sex Abuse Victims? See also Criminal Episodes and ECSA
• 04/13/12 | ECSA: Downloading Is Not Duplication
• 02/12/12 | What Do Dead People Have to do with Encouraging Child Sex Abuse
• 02/04/12 | Do 17 Year Olds Have a Constitutional Right to Intercourse
• 11/06/11 | The Forgotten Encouraging Defense
• 09/19/11 | Sex Crimes and Grand Jury Notes
• 09/12/11 | Sample Encouraging Demurrer
• 08/15/11 | Do Sex Offender Registries Reduce Crime
• 06/15/11 | Going to trial on a Sex Abuse II charge post-Simonson ; see also Silver Lining to Sexual Abuse II and What is the Crime Seriousness Level of Sex Abuse II after Simonson?
• 05/31/11 | Is it possible to be convicted of a sex crime but not have to register as a sex offender?
• 03/26/11 | Online Sexual Corruption and Luring of a Minor
• 03/01/11 | Does the crime of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse violate the Oregon Constitution? See also ECSA and Criminal Episodes
• 01/26/11 | Silver Lining to Sexual Abuse II
• 01/25/11 | Attempted Statutory Rape
• 12/26/10 | Obtaining Grand Jury Notes , a riff on Fisher/Gordon v Board of Parole
• 12/12/10 | Rape III and Sex Abuse II (When Things Come Together: Simultaneity, Merger and Intercourse)

Other Crimes

Guns

• 10/07/12 | Update on the Constitutional Challenge to Possession of a loaded Firearm
• 07/27/12 | Obliterating ID Marks on a Firearm
• 04/02/12 | UUW, Pointing a Firearm at Another and Proportionality
• 03/21/12 | Is Carrying a Concealed -- but Unloaded -- Firearm in Your Car Constitutionally Protected?
• 01/14/12 | Co-Defendants to Rob I and Proving the Firearm is Loaded
• 10/06/11 | Where the COA Went Wrong in it's Failure to Merge 3 Firearms
• 03/05/11 | A Guide to As-Applied Challenges to Felon in Possession
• 01/06/11 | Robbery I w/ a Firearm and Comments on the Evidence
• 01/02/11 | When might UUW merge into Felon in Possession? See alsoUUW and Felon in Possession revisited

Drugs

• 05/08/13 | Super Substantial Quantities and Accomplices
• 04/19/12 | Special Jury Instruction for Commercial Drug Offenses (Includes Sample and Memo)
• 02/26/12 | The DCS-SQ/CDO Demurrer You Should File (even though it won't win)
• 03/04/11 | DCS, MCS and PCS revisited
• 01/06/11 | Possession w/ Intent to Deliver: the State's Requested Instruction
• 12/16/10 | When enhancement facts create lesser includeds (A backdoor way for PCS to merge with DCS , if the DCS - or MCS - is a Commercial Drug Offense)
• 11/25/10 | DCS and PCS - UPDATED 12-28

Assault

• 01/07/13 | Insane Oregon Laws, part 2: When It's Better for the Defendant if the Victim Dies
• 10/04/11 | Assault II: The Assaultive Nature of His Conduct: Why the OSC Should Reconsider Barnes
• 01/08/11 | Serious Physical Injury
• 11/28/10 | Assault II and Dangerous Weapons

Theft

• 07/30/13 | Theft by Selling, Theft by Taking, and Proportionality
• 08/18/12 | ID Theft Merger: Playing the Cards You're Dealt
• 04/04/12 | Identity Theft: The Moreno Defense
• 12/29/11 | Merger of ID Theft and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card
• 07/30/11 | A Special Jury Instruction for Robberies (When your client is motivated by the desire to escape, not retain the property)
• 03/05/11 | The Class of Victims for ID Theft (merger of multiple counts) See also ID Theft and Victim's Rights
• 01/31/11 | Theft by Selling and the Proportionality Paradox

Vehicles

• 10/26/11 | To What Elements of Attempted DUII Does the Mental State Apply?
• 05/03/11 | Poss of a Stolen Vehicle: The State's Requested Special Jury Instruction
• 03/02/11 | Is Felony Hit and Run Now Compromisible?
• 01/25/11 | Recklessness and Intoxication (Especially relevant to manslaughter/assault/DUIIs - see also The Difference Between Manslaughter and Negligent Homicide )
• 01/03/11 | Merger of Homicide and DUII
• 11/08/10 | UUV and PSV

Misc. or Multiple Crimes

• 03/30/12 | The Attempted Burglary Demurrer Motion to Strike
• 03/13/12 | Blog:Main/What_does_today's_kidnapping_opinion_have_to_do_with_ID_Theft?
• 11/22/11 | Felony Computer Crime
• 07/04/11 | 6 Crimes with Proportionality Problems
• 01/20/11 | Felony Computer Crime Demurrer (motion included)
• 12/30/10 | Accomplices: Messy Jury Instructions
• 12/04/10 | Unlawful Use of a Weapon - Threats aren't Use
• 12/02/10 | Kidnapping and Asportation

Merger

• 04/03/13 | In Order To Be A Victim, You Must Be Harmed Or Potentially Harmed
• 04/03/13 | Blakely and Merger
• 01/06/13 | Merger for Seniors: recklessly endangering, assault and car accidents
• 12/05/12 | Blog:Main/The_Next_Big_Merger_Issue:_ECSA_and_ID_Theft
• 11/12/12 | The Best Argument Ever for Merger of DCS-MCS and PCS
• 10/25/12 | Brand New Merger Argument
• 08/01/12 | The Class of Victims: animals, the dead, the uninjured
• 05/31/12 | BM 57 and ORS 138.083 motions
• 05/29/12 | Open Questions Regarding Merger
• 05/02/12 | 21 Findings of Guilt; One Conviction
• 03/30/12 | Does Menacing Merge Into UUW?
• 08/28/11 | Merger: Attempted Aggravated Murder and Two Counts of Attempted Murder
• 05/23/11 | Quickie Merger Analysis
• 04/30/11 | Is a Finding of a Sufficient Pause a Jury Question?
• 12/29/10 | Why the attempt versions of very different crimes would merge

Criminal Episodes

• 08/31/13 | Blog:Main/Are_a_majority_of_co-defendant_indictments_fatally_flawed?
• 07/24/13 | Remember I Told You About the Demurrer That Never Loses? Well, It... Um... Lost
• 07/10/13 | An Analog to the Improper Joinder Demurrer
• 05/22/13 | IJD: When You Want the State to Reindict and When You Don't
• 05/17/13 | Get to the point, Ryan: Allow Me to Try That Improper Joinder Argument Again
• 05/13/13 | Exceptions and Burdens: An Improper Joinder Demurrer Analysis
• 04/13/13 | A Sentencing Challenge to Embezzlement Cases
• 03/15/13 | What's Often Forgotten About Improper Joinder Demurrers: Many Times, You Want to Lose
• 03/13/13 | Status Check on Improper Joinder Demurrer
• 11/25/12 | Dismissal of the Indictment Due to Improper Joinder (demurrer attached)
• 09/30/12 | Arguing the Improper Joinder Demurrer
• 08/01/12 | Improper Joinder Demurrer Follow- Up
• 07/19/12 | How many cases include improperly joined charges?
• 06/06/12 | Mallory, Witherspoon and Separate Criminal Episodes
• 05/22/12 | Challenge to the Indictment: Failure to Appear and Witness Tampering
• 05/19/12 | Blakely Factors You May Not Know Are Blakely Factors, Part 2
• 05/17/12 | Blakely Factors You May Not Know Are Blakely Factors, Part 1
• 04/18/12 | Why the Improper Joinder Demurrer Is Even More Viable
• 04/08/12 | Criminal Episodes: Why You Should Read This Blog
• 03/29/12 | Criminal Episodes, Blakely and the Only Argument the State is Making Against Mallory
• 01/26/12 | Strategic Losing: The Demurrer Y'all Should Really Be Filing Regularly
• 01/02/12 | We Need to Talk About Mallory
• 01/01/12 | Can You Reconcile These Two Holdings?
• 12/29/11 | Criminal Episode Strategizing
• 08/02/11 | Can a Year-Long Embezzlement Constitute a Single Criminal Episode?
• 06/04/11 | Does "cross-relate" refer to elements or circumstances?
• 06/04/11 | Should we just re-boot the whole criminal episode analysis?
• 04/01/11 | Multiple Victims But One Criminal Episode
• 02/01/11 | Improper Joinder Demurrer: Dismissal, Not Severance (motion included)
• 01/04/11 | One More Reason a Single Criminal Episode Matters: Updated
• 12/27/10 | 5 Things You Need to Know About Criminal Episodes
• 11/21/10 | A Strategic Demurrer Updated w/ sample demurrer
• 11/01/10 | Judge or Jury
• 10/26/10 | Theft and ID Theft
• 10/24/10 | Encouraging Child Sex Abuse
• 10/21/10 | Overview
• 11/25/09 | Ice Did Not Overrule Mallory

Search and Seizure

• 06/05/13 | Search Incident to Arrest: When There's a Gap Between the Crime and the Arrest
• 06/05/13 | Arguments No One Would Make Except in a Courtroom, Part 2
• 05/14/13 | Blog:Main/Iowa_finds_parole_condition_unconstitutional;_why_should_you_care?
• 09/12/12 | Often: The Search Warrant's Achilles Heel
• 03/17/12 | Strategy Tip for Suppressing Statements
• 12/08/11 | Most Search Warrants Suck
• 10/18/11 | A "Common" Problem with Search Warrant Affidavits
• 09/25/11 | Search Warrants and the Flagrant Disregard Doctrine
• 09/25/11 | When the Arrest is Solely for Running from the Police
• 08/08/11 | Ballistics Tests Without a Search Warrant
• 07/27/11 | Why Stip Facts Trials are the Death of Hope
• 07/14/11 | Traffic Stop Extensions: Why do the police ask for your insurance and vehicle registration?
• 01/20/11 | Little-Known Search Warrant Challenge
• 01/16/11 | Challenging Search Warrants: 3 simple arguments

Equal Privileges

• 06/25/12 | Is the Rule of Lenity Rooted in the Due Process Clause?
• 02/29/12 | My Last Post (at the old website)
• 12/12/11 | When the Prosecutor Lets Your Co-Defendant Decide Your Plea Offer
• 11/06/11 | The Encouraging Defense That's Been Forgotten
• 10/26/11 | Can Any Policy Be So Incoherent that There is No Need to Show Inconsistent Application
• 09/26/11 | When Two Children Engage in Sexual Activity
• 07/03/11 | Equal Privileges and Aggravating Factor
• 06/22/11 | Aggregated Thefts
• 06/22/11 | Aggregated Thefts part II
• 06/22/11 | Sex Abuse II and Equal Privileges in Light of Savastano
• 06/15/11 | Dangerous Offender and Equal Privileges

Sentence Enhancements

• 05/07/13 | Blog:Main/State's_Response_to_Upward_Departure_Challenge
• 03/14/13 | Due Process Entitles Defendants to a Preliminary Hearing or Indictment on Upward Departure Factors
• 11/18/12 | The Nonsensical Distinction: Elements & Sentence Enhancements
• 10/28/12 | If judges followed the law, no upward departures because of "on supervision"
• 10/05/12 | Head-Counting US v Alleyne: Update
• 10/05/12 | Measure 11, Escape Hatches and Blakely: Biggest Sentencing News of the Month!
• 09/07/12 | Forget Unanimity: Focus Instead on the Fact that it Only Takes 1-3 Jurors to Acquit
• 06/21/12 | What is the difference between a sentence enhancement fact and an element?
• 05/03/12 | If Reinke wins, would it be a very narrow victory?
• 04/29/12 | Offender vs Offense Specific: How Much Do Defense Lawyers Understand About This Issue?
• 04/29/12 | After the jury convicts, can a new jury be empaneled for the dangerous offender trial?
• 04/19/12 | The Art of Tea Leaves: Why I'm Optimistic About Reinke
• 04/08/12 | Wagner I and Offense-Specific Aggravators
• 04/02/12 | When is a Ballot Measure 57 Mandatory Minimum Not in Fact Mandatory?
• 04/02/12 | How Many Jurors Are Needed To Acquit of the Gun Minimum or CDO Factors?
• 03/18/12 | Might Wagner I Be Overruled By a Non-Death Case?
• 02/26/12 | Upward Departure Notice in Multnomah County
• 01/29/12 | Wagner I: That Case Doesn't Mean What You Think it Means
• 01/13/12 | Dangerous Offenders, Upward Departures and Offense-Specific Aggregation
• 10/27/11 | Equal Privileges, Upward Departures and Inconsistent Application
• 08/17/11 | Limiting the Gun Minimum to the First Conviction
• 08/12/11 | How Many Jurors Does It Take to Acquit of an Aggravating Factor
• 08/12/11 | How Many Jurors Does It Take to Acquit of a CDO Factor? Or the Gun Minimum?
• 08/10/11 | On Supervision at the Time of the Offense
• 07/03/11 | Equal Privileges and Aggravating Factor
• 06/30/11 | Tea Leaves, Momentum and Offense-Specific Aggravating Factors
• 04/16/11 | Dangerous Offender: Finding of a Personality Disorder without a Diagnosis ; see also Dangerous Offender and Equal Privileges
• 04/16/11 | Persistent Involvement, part 1
• 04/16/11 | Persistent Involvement, part 2
• 12/19/10 | Objections to upward departures
• 11/01/10 | Motion: [Indictment Clause]
• 10/27/10 | Sentence Enhancers vs Elements , a comment on State v. Sanchez

Jury Instructions and Mental States

• 04/13/13 | Blog:Main/Right_to_"no_adverse_inference"_instruction_in_enhancement_trials?
• 03/30/13 | Blog:Main/The_COA_says_failure_to_ask_for_a_lesser-included_instruction_can_be_bad_lawyering;_is_it_possible_that_the_real_bad_lawyering_comes_from_asking_FOR_the_instruction?
• 03/22/13 | Blog:Main/The_Concurrence_Requirement:_the_COA_thinks_this_is_a_big_deal_and_you_should_too
• 02/13/13 | Lesser-Included Offenses
• 10/18/12 | Mental States and Jury Instructions (and a brief discussion of restitution)
• 09/19/12 | Once Again: It Can Be Malpractice Not to Ask for Lesser-Included Offense
• 08/29/12 | Two of Today's Opinions Asking for a Lesser-Included Instruction
• 05/09/12 | Why You Should Submit Jury Instructions in a Bench Trial: Revisited
• 03/17/12 | Ambiguity and Jury Instructions
• 02/08/12 | Thoughts on Jury Concurrence and a Work-in-Progress Jury Instruction
• 01/23/12 | A Rainoldi Follow-Up: Is It the Last Word
• 01/15/12 | The Lazy Co-Defendant's Guide to Not Screwing Up the Appeal
• 12/30/11 | Mental States and Elements
• 03/12/11 | Submitting Jury Instructions in a Bench Trial
• 01/03/11 | Jury Instruction Basics

Restitution

• 11/12/12 | Restitution, Appeals, and a Little-Known Statute
• 09/15/12 | Good News or Reason #67 Why You Should Read the Library of Defense
• 03/26/11 | Restitution and the Right to a Jury Trial under Article I, section 17 (for Juveniles Too)

Evidence

• 07/12/12 | Impeachment via Learned Treatise

Miscellaneous

• 09/12/13 | The Significance Of Today's Opinions
• 09/12/13 | A Rose is a Rose is a Rose... Unless the Legislature Says It's A Tulip
• 07/19/13 | Accomplices: What if the Law Changed and No One Noticed? (Part 1) (Part 2)
• 07/09/13 | Requesting A Favor: GJ Notes
• 06/28/13 | All Right, People, Let's Update Those Motions to Compel Grand Jury Notes
• 06/23/13 | Preservation and Concession is Both Easy and Good Lawyering
• 05/05/13 | Blog:Main/So_how_long_does_an_appeal_actually_take?
• 02/22/13 | Blog:Main/How_many_jurors_does_it_take_for_acquittal?
• 02/09/13 | Blog:Main/Trick_question:_does_the_5th_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution_apply_to_Oregon_prosecutions?
• 01/23/13 | Just Lost a Trial? Good. Now You Can...
• 01/17/13 | Good Clackamas County, Bad Clackamas County
• 01/12/13 | Tomorrow Is The One-Year Anniversary of Oral Argument in ... State v. Ofodrinwa
• 12/27/12 | Confessions of a S****y Defense Lawyer
• 12/23/12 | On Corkscrews and Calculus
• 11/30/12 | Blog:Main/Denied_the_Grand_Jury_Notes,_What_Should_You_Do_Next?
• 11/21/12 | Plain Error Appeals and 138.083
• 11/01/12 | Preservation at its Most Challenging
• 08/07/12 | Forgotten Favorites: Misdemeanor Probation Revocations and Proportionality
• 07/08/12 | An Island Never Cries: a few quick replies
• 07/06/12 | No Good Defense Lawyer is an Island
• 03/28/12 | When a Judge Imposes a Trial Tax: Is Candor the Only Real Sin?
• 03/10/12 | Reviving a Dead Argument: M11 and Accomplices
• 03/10/12 | (Un)Reasonable Release Conditions: No Contact with Witnesses
• 03/07/12 | An Observation about Severance
• 02/14/12 | Returning All The Bail
• 02/05/12 | The Crime Must Have a Victim: The First Hurdle of Civil Compromises
• 12/12/11 | When the Prosecutor Lets Your Co-Defendant Decide Your Plea Offer
• 10/04/11 | The Severance Chimera
• 09/24/11 | Removing a Witness's Name from a Court of Appeals Decision
• 09/04/11 | Silence is a Very Poor Strategy for Appeal
• 02/10/11 | Compelling Immunity for a Defense Witness
• 02/03/11 | Witness List Demand (motion included)