State v. Ventris

The 1999 legislative amendment to ORS 138.083 granted the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision the same authority it had to parole persons convicted of murder that it had to parole persons convicted of aggravated murder. State v. Giles, 254 Or App 349-50, 293 P3d 1086 (2012). ).

The State appealed an order from the trial court for corrected judgment and sentencing of a May, 2000 judgment that had an “erroneous term” under former ORS 138.083, which was repealed by Or Laws chapter 529, section 26.  On appeal, Defendant argued the term “life imprisonment” in the 2000 judgment was unconstitutional and as such is an erroneous term. The 1999 legislative amendment to ORS 138.083 granted the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision the same authority it had to parole persons convicted of murder that it had to parole persons convicted of aggravated murder.  State v. Giles, 254 Or App 349-50, 293 P3d 1086 (2012). The Court held that the legislative amendment "cured" the constitutional defect, and because it applied retroactively, Defendant's life sentence was not an "erroneous term." Reversed and Remanded.