Court Opinion

ID: 9628376
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 09:18:13.339054+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:04.898001
License: Public Domain

GILLETTE, J.,
specially concurring.
The majority today decides an interesting and important question of Oregon evidence law. Its interpretation of the privileges governed by OEC 513(1) may be correct; I express no opinion on that issue. What is correct, however, is that this Court has no need in this case to answer the question the majority decides. I therefore decline to join in the opinion for the majority.
As the majority acknowledges (307 Or at 351-52), there is absolutely no basis in this record for assuming that the trial judge made any evidentiary use of Haddix’s exercise of his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. To the contrary, the judge affirmatively indicated on the record that he would not consider this factor in weighing the evidence. That being true, the judgment of the Court of Appeals should be affirmed without further comment.
I recognize that the majority may feel either (1) that *357the issue should be addressed because we granted review in order to address it or (2) that the issue is one on which this Court’s disagreement with the analysis of the Court of Appeals should be announced now. The majority does not state either reason, however, and I would disagree with either or both reasons in any event.
We did not realize when we granted review in this case that the underlying issue was not presented on the record. It is no black mark against us, once we do realize it, to simply say so and move on to other cases.
Our (or, more precisely, the majority’s) disagreement with the Court of Appeals is no more important as a purely abstract matter than is any other abstract disagreement. And this disagreement is abstract. There may never be another case in which the issue needs to be addressed. Or there may be another, but the Court of Appeals may change its mind. Or there may be another, and the Court of Appeals may act as it did in this case. In the latter event, the requisite number of members of this Court might or might not wish to allow review at that time. As to the other two cases, the first would mean that this issue would never need to be addressed and, in the second, even the present majority might choose to deny review. There is no reason to decide what the majority decides today.
I concur in the result.
Peterson, C. J., joined in this concurring opinion.