Court Opinion

ID: 9755424
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:38:06.277252+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:07.416839
License: Public Domain

ROSENBLUM, S. J.,
dissenting.
Defendant was presented with a perfect opportunity to alert the trial court to the error in its ruling as to the victim’s accusation against her stepbrothers: In ruling that the proffered evidence was excluded under OEC 412, the court noted that the evidence was “relevant for the jury to consider” and said, “But unless counsel can point me to some exception, I see no way that that can come in, and therefore it is denied.” Defendant stood silent and let the error remain uncorrected. Defendant made no objection whatsoever to the court’s ruling on the victim’s accusation against her stepfather. Thus, in my view, defendant failed to preserve either of the two assignments of error that the majority addresses at length. Because I would not address those assignments on their merits, I would not vacate defendant’s convictions. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
In his first assignment of error, defendant contends that, because evidence that a complainant has previously made false accusations of sexual offenses is not evidence of the complainant’s “past sexual behavior,” the trial court erred in excluding the proffered evidence under OEC 412. Although he raised that point in his motion to allow the evidence, he did not reiterate it at the hearing. I agree with the majority that, as a general matter, a party is not required to repeat orally every argument that has been asserted in writing in order for those arguments to be preserved. Under some circumstances, however, asserting an argument in a written submission is not enough. Here, defendant submitted a written motion with multiple grounds in support of his position that evidence concerning the victim’s accusation against her *104stepbrother was admissible. The court ruled that the evidence was inadmissible on one of the grounds and invited defendant to point out exceptions that would allow the evidence to come in. Defendant remained silent.
Under the circumstances, as a matter of judicial economy — one of the primary policies underlying the preservation rule, see State v. Parkins, 346 Or 333, 340, 211 P3d 262 (2009) — I would require a party to point out to the court that it had raised other grounds in the written submission that would lead to a different result notwithstanding the court’s ruling on the first ground and ask the court to address them. Because defendant did not respond to the court’s invitation to point out exceptions that would allow the evidence to come in, I would not address the merits of the first assignment of error.
Defendant’s failure to preserve the other issue that the majority addresses at length is even more obvious. The court ruled that evidence concerning the victim’s accusation against her stepfather could not come in because it involved “allegations about bad acts of other people.” Defendant made no objection whatsoever to that reasoning, either when the state advanced it in opposition to defendant’s motion or when the court adopted the state’s position. In spite of those opportunities to raise the issue, he argues for the first time on appeal that there is no rule prohibiting evidence of prior bad acts of other people. I would not review that assignment of error either.
I respectfully dissent.