State v. Givens

“ORS 161.370(10) provides for discharge of a defendant who “remains committed” under ORS 161.370(9)." Therefore, under ORS 161.370(13) the trial court is not required to dismiss the refiled charges if a defendant is not presently committed to the state hospital.

Defendant appealed several convictions of class A misdemeanors. Defendant was committed to the state hospital for restoration and was released to the community after the maximum period of time under ORS 161.370(10). Defendant assigned error to the trial court for denying his motion to dismiss charges that had been refiled while he was in the state hospital. On appeal, Defendant argued that under ORS 161.370(10), the State must dismiss the refiled charges pursuant to ORS 161.370(13) because he had already served the maximum period of time in community restoration on the originally filed charges. In response, the State argued that the plain meaning of the statute within its context, and the legislative history indicate that in order for charges to be dismissed under ORS 161.370(13), Defendant must have been committed at the time of the dismissal. “ORS 161.370(10) provides for discharge of a defendant who “remains committed” under ORS 161.370(9), evincing a legislative intention that a defendant is entitled to discharge only when he is presently committed.” The Court reasoned that the State could refile the charges because when they did so, Defendant was no longer in commitment of the State hospital. The Court held that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Affirmed.