- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Criminal Law
- Date Filed: 10-26-2011
- Case #: A143579
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Haselton, P.J. for the Court; Armstrong, J.; & Duncan, J.
Defendant was convicted of five counts of reckless endangerment after driving down the freeway in the wrong direction while attempting to elude the police. On appeal, defendant claimed that the trial court should have merged the five counts of reckless endangerment since the purpose of Oregon's reckless endangerment statute is the prohibition on the creation of risk, not necessarily to protect the particular victims placed at risk. The Court of Appeals held that the statute prohibits the merger of multiple reckless counts where specific victims are found within the zone of danger. The Court also held that the defendant failed to show how his counsel’s failure to object to his multiple convictions breached the constitutional standard of competent representation, particularly when such objection would not have resulted in a different outcome. Affirmed.