Opinion ID: 835779
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trial Court's Authority to Supplement Record

Text: We first address defendant's argument that the trial court lacked authority to grant the state's motion to supplement the record. Former ORS 163.150(1)(g) (1997) provided that, when a defendant is sentenced to death, [t]he judgment of conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to automatic and direct review by this court. [24] ORAP 12.10 does not require a defendant sentenced to death to file a notice of appeal, and, instead, charges the trial court clerk with filing a packet with the State Court Administrator that includes a copy of the judgment of conviction and sentence of death, along with a certificate and cover sheet providing information about the underlying trial court proceeding. Defendant is correct in asserting that those provisions vest this court with jurisdiction immediately upon entry of the judgment of conviction and sentence of death. Contrary to defendant's arguments, however, that conclusion does not mean that the trial court lacked authority to consider the state's motion to supplement the transcript. ORAP 12.10(5) [25] prescribes the manner and the timing for the preparation of a transcript of a trial court proceeding resulting in the imposition of a death sentence. That rule provides that, as in other criminal appeals, the trial court settles the transcript pursuant to ORS 138.185 and ORS 19.370. See also Fry v. Ashley, 228 Or. 61, 71, 363 P.2d 555 (1961) (It is elementary that it is the circuit court, not this court, which determines the correctness of the transcript which comes to this court on an appeal.). In this case, the prosecutor filed the motion to supplement the transcript pursuant to former ORS 19.370(3) (1997). [26] That statute provided, in part: Within 15 days after the transcript is filed, any party may move the trial court for an order to correct any errors appearing in the transcript or, where the interests of justice require, to have additional parts of the proceedings included in the transcript. A copy of any such motion shall be filed with the court to which the appeal is made. The trial court shall direct the making of such corrections and the adding of such matter as may be appropriate and shall fix the time within which such corrections or additions shall be made. (Emphasis added.). As the state correctly notes, this court previously has construed the wording in former ORS 19.370(3) to authorize the trial court to supplement the record when the court reporter has failed to record a trial court event. See Fry, 228 Or. at 73, 363 P.2d 555 (If the stipulation referred to was entered into during the trial, but not taken down by the reporter, and the appellant wished to rely upon it here, he could and should have moved the trial court to have it `included in the transcript' as `additional parts of the proceedings[.]' (construing former ORS 19.078(3), renumbered as ORS 19.370(3)). Thus, consistently with former ORS 19.370(3) (1997), the trial court had authority to include in the transcript as additional parts of the proceedings the hearing on the state's motion in which the trial court supplemented the record with the prosecutor's affidavit and with the trial court's own statements describing the trial court events that the erased audiotape had recorded.