State v. Basham

“[A]n instruction is appropriate if it correctly states the law and is supported by evidence in the record, when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party requesting the instruction,” in this case the state. State v. Ashkins, 357 Or 642, 648, 357 P3d 490 (2015); For a Miles instruction to be proper, “there must be evidence that [the defendant’s physical condition] made [the] defendant more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than he otherwise would have been[.]” State v. Huck, 100 Or App 193, 197, 785 P2d 785 (1990).

Defendant appealed from a judgment of conviction for DUII.  Defendant raised four assignment of errors, including that the trial court erred in giving a Miles jury instruction. On appeal, Defendant argued that there there was insufficient evidence to infer that Defendant's underlying physical conditions made him more susceptible to intoxicants. In response, the State argued that because Defendant had two different controlled susbstances in his system, and that Defendant's expert witness testified that "being on the down side of methamphetamine intoxication can enhance the narcotic analgesic," the jury was entitled to consider Defendant's possible down side effects while driving. “[A]n instruction is appropriate if it correctly states the law and is supported by evidence in the record, when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party requesting the instruction," in this case the State. State v. Ashkins, 357 Or 642, 648, 357 P3d 490 (2015). For a Miles instruction to be proper, “there must be evidence that [the defendant’s physical condition] made [the] defendant more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than he otherwise would have been[.]” State v. Huck, 100 Or App 193, 197, 785 P2d 785 (1990). The Court held that the trial court erred in giving Miles instructions because there was no evidence at trial tying defendant's prior injuries to an increased susceptibility to the effects of an intoxicating substance. Conviction on Count 2 reversed and remanded; otherwise affirmed.