Opinion ID: 836286
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: trial prejudice

Text: The majority factors Detective Erickson's death into the prejudice to the defense prong of the Barker analysis. Erickson died in 1992, before this court resolved the state's first appeal. In my view, allegedly prejudicial events should not be factored into the analysis if, like Erickson's death, they occurred during a period of reasonable delay. The majority apparently believes that the prejudice to the defense prong is intended to evaluate the cumulative effect of all changes in circumstance between the time of defendant's arrest and the time of trial, regardless of the timing of the events that led to those changes of circumstance. Article I, section 10, however, does not confer on a criminal defendant a right to a trial in the identical format that the trial would have taken if it had commenced on the day the defendant was arrested. Instead, that provision mandates that the state avoid unreasonable delay in bringing the matter to trial (or other resolution). Logically, then, dismissal of charges is intended to remedy any prejudice to a defendant caused by the state's failure to avoid unreasonable delay. Oregon case law supports the view that Article I, section 10, was not intended to provide a remedy for all prejudicial events that might occur before trial. First, Oregon courts have established that one of the purposes of Article I, section 10, is to limit the possibility of impairment to a defendant's ability to put on a defense. Dykast, 300 Or. at 378, 712 P.2d 79. When the state avoids unreasonable delay, it limits the possibility of prejudice to the defendant. However, the state cannot eliminate that possibility. Holding the state responsible for prejudicial events that occur when the state is meeting its constitutional obligations can do little to effectuate the purpose of limiting the possibility of prejudice. Second, this court has suggested that the date on which an allegedly prejudicial event occurred is important. In Ivory, the defendant was indicted secretly in January 1975, but was not arrested and did not learn of the indictment until December 1975. 278 Or. at 501, 509 n. 8, 564 P.2d 1039. The defendant moved to dismiss, claiming that he had been prejudiced by the disappearance of two witnesses. After concluding that the period of delay between the indictment and the arrest was unreasonable, this court noted that those witnesses had been seen last in March 1975 and June 1975, respectively. The court went on to find that the defendant had demonstrated prejudice by identification of potentially favorable witnesses who could not be found due to a delayed trial.  Id. at 508, 564 P.2d 1039 (emphasis added). The Ivory court appears to have factored the prejudicial event (the disappearance of the witnesses) into the analysis because the witnesses had disappeared during a period of unreasonable delay. [3] I concede that prejudicial events that occur during periods of reasonable delay occasionally might factor into another element of the constitutional calculus, such as the reasons for the delay prong of the Barker analysis. For example, when the state learns that a defense witness has fallen terminally ill and has limited time to testify, it is reasonable for the state to expedite the trial or otherwise to perpetuate the witness's testimony. In such a case, the state has warning of an impending prejudicial event, and a failure to expedite trial or to preserve the evidence appropriately should be considered when evaluating the reasonableness of the state's conduct. Nevertheless, I would hold that events like the death of Erickson, i.e., events occurring during a period of reasonable delay, should be excluded from the prejudice element of the analysis. Moreover, I agree with the state that the allegations of prejudice caused by Erickson's death are too speculative to merit any weight in the prejudice analysis. I also would reject defendant's claim that he was prejudiced because his ability to impeach the victim's father and the father's girlfriend with inconsistent statements was undermined by the passage of time. Despite the majority's conclusory insistence otherwise, 331 Or. at 86 n. 8, 11 P.3d at 650 n. 8, defendants must demonstrate more than a reasonable possibility of prejudice to their defenses. In Mende, this court stated: [Defendant] has not demonstrated any actual prejudice to his ability to prepare a defense. We speak of `actual' prejudice because, as a practical matter, and despite [language from Haynes suggesting that prejudice might not be considered under the Oregon Constitution], our prior cases all have required in effect that there be some degree of actual prejudice to the ability to prepare a defense to the charge in order to establish a constitutional violation   . 304 Or. at 22-23, 741 P.2d 496 (emphasis added). The wording in effect signaled that, although in the past the court had articulated one standard, in practice it had effectuated another. The standard set out in Mende, and controlling here, requires actual trial prejudice as distinct from a mere possibility of trial prejudice. In this case, defense counsel was able to demonstrate at trial inconsistencies between statements made by the father and his girlfriend to police officers on the day of the crime and their testimony at trial. The father and his girlfriend each testified that their earlier statements to the police were made during a period of extreme emotional upset and either were incomplete or mistaken. Each denied that he or she had killed the child. Thus, the jury heard the complete testimony of all three principal suspects in this case, was alerted to the discrepancies in their testimony, and had every opportunity to evaluate their individual credibility and demeanor. Nothing different would have occurred had the case been tried twelve months earlier. As noted, the trial court expressly concluded that defendant's claim of prejudice is a reach   as solid evidence supporting that [claim] is not apparent to the court. I agree. Defendant has not demonstrated the actual prejudice to his ability to prepare a defense that is required by Article I, section 10. Mende, 304 Or. at 22, 741 P.2d 496.