State of Oregon v. Sage Bruce Butler

Summary

The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a trial judge’s nonbinding advice concerning a tentative plea agreement was not a ruling on a petition, demurrer, or motion under ORS 14.260(3). The defendant’s motion to change judge therefore was improperly denied on timeliness grounds. The court vacated the judgment and remanded for further proceedings, while rejecting or declining to reach the defendant’s other assignments of error as presented.

Holdings

1. A trial judge's nonbinding advice about whether the judge would accept a tentative plea and sentencing agreement is not a ruling on a petition, demurrer, or motion within the meaning of ORS 14.260(3). Therefore, the advice did not preclude defendant's motion to change judge.
2. The court declined to affirm on the State's alternative argument that the trial judge's earlier protective-order ruling barred the motion to change judge.
3. The proper disposition was to vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings rather than reverse the convictions and order a new trial before a different judge.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial judge's nonbinding advice about whether the judge would concur in a tentative plea agreement constitutes a ruling on a petition, demurrer, or motion that bars a later motion to disqualify the judge under ORS 14.260(3).
2. Whether the State could affirm the denial of the motion to change judge on the alternative ground that the trial judge had previously ruled on a protective-order motion.
3. What disposition was appropriate after the trial court incorrectly treated the motion to change judge as untimely and therefore did not reach the motion's merits.

Disposition

vacated