Opinion

State v. Coty

  • 31 Or. App. 885
  • 571 P.2d 1262
  • 1977 Ore. App. LEXIS 2084
Court
Court of Appeals of Oregon
Filed
Dec 5, 1977
Status
Published
Author
Schwab
On the bench
Buttler, Schwab, Thornton
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 16.8%

The opinion

SCHWAB, C. J.

The state concedes that defendant’s conviction for driving under the influence of intoxicants must be reversed and remanded for a new trial because of Brown v. Multnomah County Dist. Ct., 280 Or 95 , 570 P2d 52 (1977), which was decided after defendant was tried. Defendant responds that outright reversal without remand is required because: (1) Brown now requires that guilt in a case like this be established beyond a reasonable doubt; and (2) at the conclusion of defendant’s pre-Brown trial, the court stated that the evidence did not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

We are not persuaded that reversal without remand is warranted. When defendant was tried, a statute provided that proof need only be by a preponderance of the evidence, and there was no binding precedent that the statute was invalid. It is possible that the prosecution, relying on the statute, failed to produce available evidence. Because defendant was tried civilly, submission to criminal jeopardy is not barred by former criminal jeopardy. The rules of the game having been subsequently changed in Brown , both sides are entitled to a rematch under the new rules.

Defendant also asks that we rule that district courts cannot require payment of a "court reporter’s fee” in DUII prosecutions. Defendant may technically be correct in stating this issue was not decided in Brown ; however, the clear implication of the Brown rationale is that the same rules governing imposition of fees in criminal cases are now applicable to DUII prosecutions.

Reversed and remanded for new trial.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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