State v. Benoit

Summary

The Oregon Supreme Court considered whether a prosecutor's election under ORS 161.566(1) to treat a misdemeanor criminal-trespass charge as a violation deprived the defendant of the jury-trial right under Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution. The court held that the proceeding remained a criminal prosecution because the offense was statutorily defined as a crime and the defendant had been arrested, booked, and detained before the charge was reduced. The court dismissed the state's petition for a writ of mandamus.

Holdings

1. When a proceeding begins as a criminal prosecution with the defendant's arrest, booking, and incarceration for conduct legislatively defined as a crime, the State's unilateral election under ORS 161.566(1) to treat the charge as a violation does not transform it into a noncriminal proceeding without further constitutional consequences.
2. Because the prosecution remained a criminal prosecution for constitutional purposes, Benoit was entitled to a jury trial, and the circuit court correctly granted her motion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a misdemeanor criminal-trespass prosecution that began with the defendant's arrest, booking, and incarceration remains a 'criminal prosecution' under Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution after the prosecutor elects to treat the charge as a violation under ORS 161.566(1).
2. Whether the defendant is constitutionally entitled to a jury trial despite the statutory procedures for violation proceedings under ORS chapter 153.

Disposition

dismissed