Opinion ID: 2747138
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Threshold issue of reviewability

Text: It is a “well-settled principle that ‘[a] party does not have an inherent right to appellate court review;’ ” rather, the party must show that the matter from which appeal is taken is appealable under a provision of law. State v. Cloutier, 351 Or 68, 74, 261 P3d 1234 (2011) (alteration in original; quoting Waybrant v. Bernstein, 294 Or 650, 653, 661 P2d 931 (1983)). ORS 138.012(1) provides this court with original jurisdiction in death penalty cases: 3 The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in part, “No person    shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself[.]” 4 This court has previously reviewed a pretrial ruling in a capital case where the defendant had entered an unconditional guilty plea and trial had been limited to the penalty phase. See Acremant, 338 Or at 317. However, the parties in that case did not advance the reviewability argument that the state now raises, and, consequently, the court did not address the issue. Cite as 356 Or 432 (2014) 439 “The judgment of conviction and sentence of death entered under ORS 163.150(1)(f)[5] is subject to automatic and direct review by the Supreme Court.” See also ORAP 12.10 (specifying rules for automatic review of death sentence cases). The state does not dispute that ORS 138.012 pro- vides this court with original jurisdiction over this appeal. Rather, the state contends that other statutory provisions apply to limit this court’s scope of review. Specifically, the state construes the text of ORS 138.012 as providing only a jurisdictional grant that does not control the permissible range of appellate review. The state points to ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222, which include provisions that limit appellate review in criminal cases where a defendant has pleaded guilty or no contest without qualification and without invoking ORS 135.335(3). Because defendant entered an unconditional guilty plea and did not comply with the requirements of ORS 135.335(3), the state contends that those limitations apply. The state relies on the following text in ORS 138.050: “(1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 135.335, a defendant who has pleaded guilty or no contest may take an appeal from a judgment or order described in ORS 138.053 only when the defendant makes a colorable showing that the disposition: “(a) Exceeds the maximum allowable by law; or “(b) Is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. “     “(3) On appeal under subsection (1) of this section, the appellate court shall consider only whether the disposition: “(a) Exceeds the maximum allowable by law; or “(b) Is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.” 5 ORS 163.150(1)(f) requires that, if a jury returns affirmative findings on each of the four questions required to impose the death penalty, the trial court must sentence the defendant to death. See also ORS 163.150(1)(b) (setting out four questions for the jury). 440 State v. McAnulty As applied to this case, the state reads ORS 138.050(3) as limiting appellate review to consideration of only the judgment or order described in ORS 138.053,6 except as otherwise provided in ORS 135.335. The state argues that a judgment or order under ORS 138.053 does not include a disposition on a pretrial ruling and that the exception for ORS 135.335 that would permit a broader scope of review does not apply here because defendant failed to enter a conditional plea. See ORS 135.335(3). The state also relies on the following text of ORS 138.222: “(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 138.040 and 138.050, a sentence imposed for a judgment of conviction entered for a felony committed on or after November 1, 1989, may be reviewed only as provided by this section. “     “(4) In any appeal, the appellate court may review a claim that: “(a) The sentencing court failed to comply with require- ments of law in imposing or failing to impose a sentence; “     “(7) Either the state or the defendant may appeal a judgment of conviction based on the sentence for a felony committed on or after November 1, 1989, to the Court of Appeals subject to the limitations of chapter 790, Oregon Laws 1989. The defendant may appeal under this subsection only upon showing a colorable claim of error in a proceeding if the appeal is from a proceeding in which: “(a) A sentence was entered subsequent to a plea of guilty or no contest   .” In the state’s view, because defendant’s sentence was entered subsequently to her guilty plea, ORS 138.222(4)(a) limits review to consideration of either the lawfulness of a sentence 6 ORS 138.053 designates five dispositions as subject to the appeal provisions and limitations on review under ORS 138.050. The first two dispositions relate to sentencing, specifically the “[i]mposition of a sentence on conviction,” ORS 138.053(1)(a), and the “[s]uspension of imposition or execution of any part of a sentence,” ORS 138.053(1)(b); the other three relate to probation. See ORS 138.053(1)(c) - (e). Cite as 356 Or 432 (2014) 441 or whether an error occurred in imposing the sentence. The state contends that those limitations preclude review of the pretrial ruling on defendant’s motion to suppress. The state’s position on review consists of two overlapping propositions. First, because nothing in ORS 138.012(1) purports to prescribe any scope of review, that statute does not supersede or exempt this court in reviewing a death penalty case from the scope of review limitations imposed by ORS 138.050(3) and ORS 138.222(4)(a). Second, the limited review in this case is a direct consequence of defendant’s failure to comply with the conditional plea process outlined in ORS 135.335(3).
We first address the scope of review issue before examining the effect of the conditional plea statute in more detail. The state is correct that ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222 impose significant limitations on the scope of review in criminal cases that fall within their purview. However, the state’s reading of those provisions overlooks significant textual and contextual clues that demonstrate that the legislature intended the appeals undertaken in ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222 to be distinct from the automatic and direct review process that occurs in death penalty cases. As a result, as explained below, we conclude that the legislature did not intend the scope of review limitations provided under ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222 to apply to limit a direct death penalty review in this court. We arrive at that conclusion by examining the text and context of the various statutes. See State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-73, 206 P3d 1042 (2009) (describing methodology). We also consider this court’s prior construction of the statutes at issue. Blacknall v. Board of Parole, 348 Or 131, 141-42, 229 P3d 595 (2010). To begin, the text of ORS 138.012(1) contrasts significantly with the text of ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222. As noted, ORS 138.012(1) provides for “automatic and direct review by the Supreme Court” in all cases in which a jury convicts a defendant of aggravated murder and answers the relevant death penalty questions outlined under ORS 163.150(1)(b) in the affirmative. Under that statute, an appeal to this court occurs as a matter of course after the 442 State v. McAnulty imposition of a death sentence, bypassing any intermediate review that the Court of Appeals would typically conduct. This court has reviewed death sentences in a manner consistent with that textual interpretation. See, e.g., State v. Montez, 309 Or 564, 789 P2d 1352 (1990) (engaging in automatic and direct review; noting that review considered mandatory). See also ORAP 12.10(1) (“Whenever a defendant is sentenced to death, the judgment of conviction and sentence of death are subject to automatic and direct review by the Supreme Court without the defendant filing a notice of appeal.”). In contrast to the automatic and direct review provided under ORS 138.012(1), ORS 138.050 expressly refers to an appeal process that is not mandatory and is not initiated in this court. In Cloutier, 351 Or 68, this court undertook an extensive examination of the meaning and history of ORS 138.050. The court explained that ORS 138.050 must be read with ORS 138.040 and that, taken together, those provisions authorize appeal and review of sentences for criminal offenses. Cloutier, 351 Or at 91. Of particular significance to this case, as the text of those provisions makes clear, an appeal in such criminal cases is at a defendant’s option and goes before the Court of Appeals; there is no right of appeal to or review by this court. ORS 138.040(1) provides a wide scope of review on appeal, but ORS 138.040 does not encompass the process for appeal from a sentence on a plea of guilty or no contest as provided for under ORS 138.050. Similarly, ORS 138.050 states that “a defendant who has pleaded guilty or no contest may take an appeal from a judgment or order” if the defendant makes a colorable showing that the disposition meets either of the two conditions described therein. ORS 138.050(1) (emphasis added). Depending on the court in which the judgment or order originates, ORS 138.050 provides that the appeal be taken either “to the Court of Appeals” or “to the circuit court for the county.” ORS 138.050(2). Thus, the text of ORS 138.050 shows that, for appeals from criminal convictions and sentences, the legislature envisioned a voluntary process that provides for intermediate review in the Court of Appeals. That procedure is distinct from the automatic and direct review provided under ORS 138.012. Cite as 356 Or 432 (2014) 443 ORS 138.222 authorizes an appeal in the Court of Appeals at defendant’s option. In 1989, the legislature adopted ORS 138.222 as part of a package of new sentencing guidelines legislation. That statute expressly authorizes appeal of convictions from pleas of guilty or no contest, and states that “[e]ither the state or the defendant may appeal” from a judgment of conviction and sentence in such cases. ORS 138.222(7) (emphasis added). Under the terms of the statute, such an appeal is made “to the Court of Appeals.” Id. Thus, as with ORS 138.050, ORS 138.222 contemplates a criminal appeal that is initiated by the defendant filing a notice of appeal in the Court of Appeals. The text of ORS 138.222 provides that, “[n]otwithstanding the provisions of ORS 138.040 and 138.050, a sentence imposed for a judgment of conviction entered for a felony committed on or after November 1, 1989, may be reviewed only as provided by this section.” ORS 138.222(1) (emphasis added); see also Cloutier, 351 Or at 91 (noting that ORS 138.222 governs appeal and review of sentences imposed for felonies). ORS 138.222 then sets forth various limitations on the permissible scope of review on appeal, including provisions that apply to sentences of probation, sentences of imprisonment, and sentences that depart from the presumptive sentencing range. ORS 138.222 makes no reference to a sentence of death. Significant distinctions also exist between the remand provisions of ORS 138.222 and ORS 138.012. For example, ORS 138.012 permits review of both the guilt and penalty phases of a death penalty case. If this court determines that prejudicial error occurred in the penalty phase, ORS 138.012(2)(a) provides that a sentence of death may be set aside. It specifies the procedure to occur on remand, which, depending on the course that the state elects, requires the trial court either to sentence a defendant to imprisonment for life pursuant to ORS 163.105(1)(c) or to empanel a jury to determine whether a defendant should again be sentenced to death pursuant to ORS 163.150(1)(f). ORS 138.222 makes no reference to such a process in its remand provisions. See ORS 138.222(5)(a). Those inconsistencies suggest an intention that the two statutes will apply in different settings. 444 State v. McAnulty This court’s case law also suggests that the auto- matic and direct review provided under ORS 138.012(1) is unique. The court has recognized that a death sentence is different both in the legislative enactments that control how it is enforced and in the overall significance of the penalty. In State v. Haugen, 349 Or 174, 243 P3d 31 (2010), this court declined to apply ORS 137.123—which governs consecutive sentences—to a sentence of death, because it determined that that statute was inconsistent with the more specific statutes permitting a death sentence for aggravated murder. The court explained that “[t]he statutes providing for the imposition of a sentence of death are a more specific expression of legislative intent when compared with a sentence of incarceration, because a sentence of death is exceptional. For that reason,    the legislature has enacted a number of specific statutes to regulate the manner in which a death sentence moves toward the issuance of a death warrant and the date of execution.” Id. at 203-04; see also State v. Guzek, 322 Or 245, 264, 906 P2d 272 (1995) (Guzek II) (“Capital cases require our most vigilant and deliberative review. We agree    that ‘[d]eath is a punishment different from all other sanctions in kind rather than degree’ so that ‘there is a difference in the need for reliability in the determination that death is the appropriate punishment in a specific case.’ ” (quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 US 280, 303-05, 96 S Ct 2978, 49 L Ed 2d 944 (1976)). In sum, we conclude that the legislature did not intend the scope of review limitations contained in ORS 138.050 and ORS 138.222 to apply to this court’s automatic and direct review of a conviction and sentence of death under ORS 138.012(1). Further, nothing in ORS 138.012(1) purports to limit this court’s ability to review defendant’s assignment of error. Consequently, we may review defendant’s challenge under ORS 138.012(1). That conclusion, however, does not directly answer what effects, if any, flow from defendant’s failure to enter a conditional plea pursuant to ORS 135.335(3). We therefore turn to that issue. Cite as 356 Or 432 (2014) 445
ORS 135.335 was originally enacted in 1973 to per- mit pleas of guilty, not guilty, and no contest. See Or Laws 1973, ch 836, § 159. The statute was amended in 1999 to add a further provision permitting a defendant to enter a conditional guilty plea. See Or Laws 1999, ch 134, § 1. The statute now provides, in part: “With the consent of the court and the state, a defendant may enter a conditional plea of guilty or no contest reserving, in writing, the right, on appeal from the judgment, to a review of an adverse determination of any specified pretrial motion. A defendant who finally prevails on appeal may withdraw the plea.” ORS 135.335(3). The 1999 enactment of subsection (3) of ORS 135.335 has two primary effects. First, for criminal defendants who plead guilty or no contest, it gives them a statutorily recognized path to obtain appellate review of a pretrial ruling. See Or Laws 1999, ch 134, § 1. Previously, a defendant who had pleaded guilty or no contest to a criminal charge had no procedural way to challenge a trial court’s ruling on a pretrial motion. As this court observed in State v. Dinsmore, 342 Or 1, 6-7, 147 P3d 1146 (2006), before 1999, a defendant who, for example, was unsuccessful in pretrial efforts to suppress evidence was typically required to enter a plea of not guilty and proceed to trial—often a trial on stipulated facts—to preserve the ability to contest the adverse pretrial ruling on that motion. Second, the enactment of ORS 135.335(3) provides a statutory mechanism for a criminal defendant to later withdraw a guilty plea if that defendant prevails in challenging the pretrial ruling reserved for review. As the last sentence of that subsection states, a defendant who is successful on appeal may withdraw his or her plea and enter a new plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. If a defendant withdraws the plea and enters a plea of not guilty, then that defendant may proceed to trial with the benefit of a successful challenge to an earlier pretrial ruling. See also Dinsmore, 342 Or at 7 (“[W]hen a conditional plea is entered 446 State v. McAnulty as an expediency under ORS 135.335(3), the parties begin anew on the charges subject to the plea if the defendant’s appeal is successful and the defendant opts to withdraw the conditional plea.”). But, by providing a mechanism to obtain review on a pretrial ruling and later withdraw a guilty or no contest plea, the text of ORS 135.335(3) carries with it an implicit limitation. Specifically, if a criminal defendant does not enter a conditional plea, the provisions of subsection (3) do not apply. Thus, a defendant does not have the benefit of a statutorily recognized path for appellate review. Even if a separate provision of law nonetheless permits appellate review, the defendant would have no statutorily recognized right to later withdraw her guilty or no contest plea on the basis that a particular pretrial ruling constituted reversible error. Thus, the plea would remain intact, effectuate a waiver of the right to trial, and result in a conviction of the offense for which the plea was entered. See also ORS 135.345 (regarding effect of no contest plea). Here, in entering her guilty plea, defendant did not attempt to reserve in writing her ability to challenge the trial court’s adverse determination on any specified pretrial ruling. Although this court may review defendant’s assignment of error pursuant to ORS 138.012(1), defendant’s failure to comply with ORS 135.335(3) precludes a withdrawal of her plea. Defendant’s conviction therefore remains intact, effectuates a waiver of the right to trial, and results in a conviction on the charged offenses. The state, however, advances a further effect of ORS 135.335(3) in relation to defendant’s claim of error. In the state’s view, defendant’s unconditional guilty plea amounted to a complete waiver of any claims relating to the adverse pretrial rulings. Because defendant did not renew her objection to the admission of the evidence during the penalty trial, the state maintains that defendant cannot now challenge the admission of those statements during the penalty phase. We disagree. Although the functional effect of defendant’s unconditional plea precludes her from obtaining a reversal of her conviction through a challenge to the trial court’s pretrial ruling on her motion to suppress, Cite as 356 Or 432 (2014) 447 we find nothing in the text or context of ORS 135.335(3) that prevents her from challenging, on automatic and direct review, the ruling as it relates to the imposition of her death sentence.7 Moreover, ORS 163.150(1)(a) prohibits the admission, during penalty proceedings, of “any evidence secured in violation of the Constitution of the United States or of the State of Oregon.” In other words, the merits of the arguments made in defendant’s pretrial motion also apply to the penalty-phase proceedings. As the state points out, during the penalty phase, defendant did not object to the admission of defendant’s statements that were the subject of defendant’s pretrial motion to suppress. On review, however, we find applicable the rule of preservation that permits a reviewing court to consider issues previously litigated and decided notwithstanding a lack of relitigation at trial. See State v. Foster, 296 Or 174, 183-84, 674 P2d 587 (1983) (concluding that pretrial motion preserved issue notwithstanding lack of relitigation at trial because a sufficient offer of proof was made “to permit the court to rule intelligently” and “the judge gave a final ruling”); see also State v. Pitt, 352 Or 566, 574-75, 293 P3d 1002 (2012) (same); Acremant, 338 Or 302 (death penalty case where defendant pleaded guilty and the court considered the defendant’s challenge to an adverse pretrial ruling when defendant had made no objection at the penalty trial and scope of review was not contested). Defendant argued in her pretrial motion to suppress that her statements were inadmissible because they were obtained in violation of her constitutional rights. The trial court held a hearing on the issue, considered the evidence, and made findings of fact and conclusions of law. Thus, 7 Aggravated murder trials are typically divided into two proceedings: the guilt phase and the penalty phase. State v. Pratt, 309 Or 205, 210, 785 P2d 350 (1990). In most cases, guilt and penalty proceedings “are merely separate phases of the same trial in which the same jury decides, first, whether the defendant is guilty and, second—if the defendant is guilty—whether the defendant should receive the death penalty.” State ex rel Carlile v. Frost, 326 Or 607, 613, 956 P2d 202 (1998) (citing State v. Montez, 324 Or 343, 348-49, 927 P2d 64 (1996), cert den, 520 US 1233 (1997)). If a defendant pleads guilty, a jury is impaneled and sworn for only a penalty-phase proceeding. ORS 163.150(1)(a) (“If the defendant has pleaded guilty, the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted before a jury impaneled for that purpose.”); see also ORS 138.012(2) (regarding procedure for penalty phase when on remand for resentencing). 448 State v. McAnulty defendant alerted the trial court to the purported error, and the court considered the merits of defendant’s motion and ruled on it. After defendant entered her plea, the trial court empanelled a jury for a penalty-phase trial. At the time the evidence was admitted during the penalty phase, the trial court was on notice of defendant’s position regarding that evidence. See Foster, 296 Or at 183-84; Pitt, 352 Or at 574. See also ORS 163.150(1)(a) (prohibiting the admission of “any evidence secured in violation of the Constitution of the United States or of the State of Oregon”). We therefore conclude that we may consider defen- dant’s first assignment of error on automatic and direct review under ORS 138.012(1).8 However, as a result of defendant’s unconditional plea, she cannot now withdraw her plea, and her conviction remains intact. Accordingly, we examine her challenge to the trial court’s ruling on her pretrial motion to suppress only as it relates to the penalty phase of her trial. We now turn to the merits of defendant’s suppression argument.