Case Name: STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. GORDON FRASER STRONG, Defendant-Appellant
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Oregon
Decision Date: 2014-04-30
Citations: 262 Or. App. 585
Docket Number: 11C45285; A151445
Parties: STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. GORDON FRASER STRONG, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before Sercombe, Presiding Judge, and Hadlock, Judge, and Tookey, Judge.
Reporter: Oregon Reports, Court of Appeals
Volume: 262
Pages: 585–586

Head Matter:
Submitted March 25,
portion of judgment requiring defendant to pay attorney fees reversed; otherwise affirmed April 30, 2014
STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. GORDON FRASER STRONG, Defendant-Appellant.
Marion County Circuit Court
11C45285; A151445
325 P3d 795
Peter Gartlan, Chief Defender, and Mary M. Reese, Senior Deputy Public Defender, Office of Public Defense Services, filed the brief for appellant.
Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Anna M. Joyce, Solicitor General, and Tiffany Keast, Assistant Attorney General, filed the brief for respondent.
Before Sercombe, Presiding Judge, and Hadlock, Judge, and Tookey, Judge.
PER CURIAM

Opinion:
PER CURIAM
Defendant appeals a judgment convicting him of five counts of first-degree sexual abuse, asserting that the trial court plainly erred in ordering him to pay $11,760 in count-appointed attorney fees in the absence of evidence in the record of his ability to pay those fees. See ORS 151.505(3) (a court may not order a defendant to pay fees unless the defendant "is or may be able" to pay them); ORS 161.665(4) (same); see also State v. Kanuch, 231 Or App 20, 24, 217 P3d 1082 (2009) (the state bears the burden of proving that a defendant is or may be able to pay fees). Defendant points out that, at the time of sentencing, he was 64 years old, that he was sentenced to 186 months of imprisonment, and that no evidence was adduced that he had an ability to pay the fees. We agree with defendant that the trial court in this case committed plain error. See State v. Coverstone, 260 Or App 714, 320 P3d 670 (2014). Furthermore, for the reasons set forth in Coverstone, 260 Or App at 717, we conclude that it is appropriate to exercise our discretion to correct the error in this case.
Portion of judgment requiring defendant to pay attorney fees reversed; otherwise affirmed.