State v. Luxford

Under ORS 163.275, by forcing the victim to relinquish car keys that she had a legal interest in, defendant compelled the victim to engage in conduct from which she had a legal right to abstain.

Defendant was involved in a domestic violence case where in the middle of the night he attacked one of his daughters as well as his romantically involved partner. After calling 9-1-1, the mother sought to remove her children from the family home using Defendant’s father’s vehicle. When she approached the car, Defendant threatened to hurt the children unless the victim relinquished the car keys. Victim gave over the keys, and, only after finding her own keys, did she escape the home with her children. The trial court found Defendant guilty on multiple charges, and Defendant ascribed error to the conviction of coercion, stating that victim was not entitled to use of the keys to his father’s car, and therefore there was no coercion for something victim had no legal right to use. The Court determined that Defendant and victim had equal access to the car and the keys. Therefore, Defendant in fact compelled the victim to engage in conduct she had a legal right to abstain from when she gave over the keys. Affirmed.