State v. Hooper

A defendant's appeal will be dismissed under the fugitive dismissal rule if the defendant absconds with conscious intent to hide from or otherwise evade legal process.

Defendant appealed his conviction for DUII and reckless driving, and challenged the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence. The State moved to dismiss this appeal under the fugitive dismissal rule (ORAP 8.05(3)), as Defendant had failed to appear at a probation hearing, pay court-ordered financial obligations, and perform court-ordered community service. The fugitive dismissal rule will result in dismissal of an appeal if the Defendant “absconds,” which includes failure to comply with conditions of probation, so long as the Defendant does so with “conscious intent to hide from or otherwise evade legal process.” The Court held that in this case Defendant did “abscond” when he failed to appear at a compliance hearing, failed to provide proof of compliance with an alcohol treatment program, failed to perform community service, and failed to pay court-ordered financial obligations. The Court found that this course of inactions rose to the level of conscious intent. Appeal dismissed.