Opinion ID: 1445104
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the assault and criminal mischief charges

Text: This, however, does not end the case. ORS 813.320 provides: The provisions of the implied consent law, except ORS 813.300 [which is not pertinent in this case], shall not be construed by any court to limit the introduction of otherwise competent, relevant evidence in any civil action, suit or proceedings or in any criminal action other than a [prosecution for DUII under]    ORS 813.010   . Under ORS 813.320, the results of the blood alcohol tests would be admissible, in spite of ORS 813.140, if the results were offered in connection with some criminal charge other than DUII and otherwise were admissible. As noted, defendant here was charged with two additional offenses, viz., assault in the fourth degree and criminal mischief in the second degree. The rule requiring suppression of the results of the tests as to the DUII charge does not apply to these offenses. ORS 813.320; State v. Milligan, supra . Following the methodology established in State v. Kennedy, supra , it would have been proper for the trial court next to address, with respect to the assault and criminal mischief charges, the question of whether the results of the tests were properly obtained under the Oregon Constitution. As noted, the trial court held that they were not constitutionally obtained, although its decision did not focus on this question with respect to the assault and criminal mischief charges separately (because the parties had not argued the issues to the trial court that way). The Court of Appeals' decision also addressed the question, but only by necessary inclusion in its DUII analysis. That court held that the first test result was inadmissible, but that the results of the two later tests would be admissible. As already explained, the court's conclusion was in error with respect to the admissibility of any of the tests with respect to the DUII charge. We now consider the admissibility of the tests with respect to the assault and criminal mischief charges.