State v. Keys

“[B]y entering a plea, without objection, in the presence of counsel, defendant waived the preliminary hearing required” by the Oregon Constitution. State v. Sheppard, 35 Or App 69, 581 P2d 549 (1978), rev den, 285 Or 1 (1979).

Defendant appealed a conviction for felony unlawful possession of methamphetamine.  Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s entry of judgment after Defendant, through counsel, gave a defective waiver of a preliminary hearing.  This was the second time this case was before the Court of Appeals.  The Oregon Supreme Court determined that a defective waiver of the right to a preliminary hearing does not result in a circuit court losing subject-matter jurisdiction.  State v. Keys, 302 Or App 514, 526-27, 460 P3d 1020 (2020), rev’d, 368 Or 171, 489 P3d 83 (2021).  Defendant’s second argument on appeal was that his defective waiver was plain error.  In response, the State argued that the trial court did not plainly err by trying and convicting Defendant.  “[B]y entering a plea, without objection, in the presence of counsel, defendant waived the preliminary hearing required” by the Oregon Constitution.  State v. Sheppard, 35 Or App 69, 581 P2d 549 (1978), rev den, 285 Or 1 (1979).  The Court found that, by entering a plea in the presence of counsel, Defendant waived the procedural irregularity regarding “his right to a preliminary hearing.”  Thus, the Court held that the trial court did not plainly err.  Affirmed.