State v. Hikes

A trial court may take into account a defendant’s attitude at sentencing, as well as his extensive criminal history when determining eligibility for sentence modification programs.

Defendant appeals from the trial court's imposition of sentence following revocation of Defendant's probation. Defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary for which he received probation. Defendant subsequently violated the terms of his probation and was sentenced to prison. The trial court also barred Defendant from eligibility for sentence modification programs, citing Defendant’s lengthy criminal history and attitude during sentencing. On appeal Defendant argued that attitude at sentencing was not a substantial and compelling reason for denying eligibility as required by ORS 137.750. Defendant also argued that since his extensive criminal history was taken into account in his prison sentence, it should not be used to deny his eligibility for sentence modification programs. The Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that Defendant’s attitude at sentencing was rightfully taken into account in determining eligibility for sentence modification programs. The Court also found that Defendant’s criminal history was correctly used to determine eligibility for programs, even if criminal history was used a factor for determining prison sentence length. Affirmed.