State v. Allen

(1) “[T]he ‘knowingly’ culpable mental state does not apply to the injury element.” State v. Owen, 369 Or 288, 321 (2022). (2) “[T]he result element—physical injury—in the crime of second-degree assault carries, at a minimum, a culpable mental state of criminal negligence and…a trial court errs when it fails to instruct the jury that a defendant must act with a culpable mental state as to the element of causing physical injury. Owen, 369 Or at 321-23.

On remand from the Oregon Supreme Court, the Court reconsidered its decision that affirmed defendant’s convictions of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal mistreatment of girlfriend’s child. Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and argued that the State had not shown that defendant knowingly caused the child serious physical injury. “[T]he ‘knowingly’ culpable mental state does not apply to the injury element.” State v. Owen, 369 Or 288, 321 (2022). The Court reasoned that, pursuant to Owen, the State does not have to prove that the defendant knew that his conduct would cause serious physical injury; therefore, the Court rejected this assignment of error. Defendant also assigned error to the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on an applicable mental state for the injury element of his charges. “[T]he result element—physical injury—in the crime of second-degree assault carries, at a minimum, a culpable mental state of criminal negligence and…a trial court errs when it fails to instruct the jury that a defendant must act with a culpable mental state as to the element of causing physical injury. Owen, 369 Or at 321-23. The Court reasoned that the same conclusion applies to defendant’s convictions. The Court held that, although the trial court erred in failing to give this instruction, the error was harmless with respect to the first-degree assault conviction. Reversed and remanded on one count; otherwise affirmed.